Peanut The Squirrel could be the story of the weekend before this Tuesday's presidential election.

At least this has led to comments from both President Trump and Elon Musk that show how volatile things have become.

Here's some backstory: A pet squirrel became a social media fixture after the owner, Mark Longo, posted heartwarming photos and videos on both Instagram and TikTok. The Peanut the Squirrel account has around 559,000 followers on Instagram alone.

According to multiple reports and a post from Longo himself, the pet squirrel was confiscated and euthanized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Previous social media posts and videos showed Longo running a petition to keep Peanut the squirrel alive, including a GoFundMe account that raised thousands for an animal rescue charity.

Trump and Musk respond

President Trump released a statement to the media that read:

“There were horrific reports from New York, my former home state, where state environmental officials searched the home of Mark Longo and his wife. Mark was taken into custody for hours while officers searched his home and eventually took two of their pets, Fred the raccoon and Peanut the squirrel. These animals were later executed by New York State.

New York authorities under their terrible governor are putting more effort into finding and eliminating a reportedly innocent squirrel than controlling the uncontrolled illegal immigrants who have flooded their state. If Peanut could have told them he was from Mexico, they would have sent him away and given him a hotel room and a $500 Buddy Squirrel gift card. Instead, he was taken away from his family. Very sad and a complete waste of resources! If we win, we’ll get our priorities in order and MAGA!”

Elon Musk also responded on his X feed:

The well-known entrepreneur and Trump supporter posted about the incident several more times, including a Star Wars-related post:

What characterizes the story

This is exactly the kind of story that characterizes the election.

What Musk is actually saying is that government authorities do not have the right to confiscate a pet from another person's home and euthanize it. Trump says essentially the same thing. They both agree with Longo because this year's election was all about how much control the government should have.

One thing is clear: everyone has an opinion during the election and it is shared on social media in such a fast format that it is often difficult to keep up. The Peanut the Squirrel story could serve as a final reminder of what has always divided voters. Now there is a whole new reason to discuss things with each other.