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In the final hours of a bitter US presidential election campaign, the question came down to this: Did Donald Trump interrupt his assault on the battleground states on Saturday to condemn the alleged execution of Peanut the squirrel in New York?

In a presidential campaign marked by foreign interference and disinformation, Trump's campaign forcefully denied the comment that went viral.

“It’s a fake statement,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the New York Post.

The statement, which appeared to come from the Republican billionaire's campaign, followed actual events this week when a pet squirrel with half a million followers on Instagram was taken from its owner and euthanized.

Peanut, the star of the account 'peanut_the_squirrel12', had delighted fans with his adorable acts like nibbling waffles and wearing tiny costumes.

But the New York City Department of Health in Chemung County and the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday that Peanut, along with a raccoon living with his owner, Mark Longo, were illegally possessed and euthanized to test for rabies.

“New York authorities … are putting more effort into eliminating a squirrel that was by all accounts innocent than controlling the uncontrolled illegal immigrants who have flooded into their state,” Peanut's official-looking campaign statement reads “executed” by the New York authorities.

“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!”

The peanut controversy was amplified by Elon Musk, Trump's top supporter and the richest man in the world.

The tech tycoon announced to his 200 million followers

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.