Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, has emerged as one of former president Donald Trump’s most prominent supporters. Since endorsing Trump in July, Musk has gone all out to back his candidacy. He has donated over $100 million to Trump’s America PAC, held town halls in the swing state of Pennsylvania, spoken at Trump rallies, hosted him for an interview on X, and used his social media platform to promote Trump’s campaign.
However, with the election just days away, Musk surprised everyone by spending the weekend posting about a squirrel on X. The squirrel in question was Peanut, an orphaned pet adopted by Mark Longo, a resident of New York. Longo had also adopted a pet raccoon named Fred. But on October 30, both animals were euthanized by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) after anonymous complaints were made about them.
The DEC stated that they had to euthanize the animals to test for rabies and because a person involved in the investigation was bitten by the squirrel. Longo shared the incident on social media, and it quickly gained attention. A GoFundMe page was set up to seek justice for Peanut and to reform the DEC, which has raised over $150,000 so far.
Musk took to X to share the story, reposting it at least 20 times over the weekend. He criticized the government’s actions, particularly those of Democratic Party-run governments, and questioned why the animals were not simply released into the forest instead of being killed. Other wealthy right-wing Trump supporters, such as venture capitalist Shaun Maguire and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, also joined in, with Ackman even sharing an AI-generated image of armed squirrels walking alongside Trump.
Even the X account for the Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee joined in, showing their support for Peanut. Musk’s own pro-Trump PAC also posted about the incident, highlighting the government’s actions as an example of overreach. The incident has sparked a debate about government regulations and animal rights, with Musk and his supporters using it to criticize the Democratic Party.
