The news cycle was defined over the weekend by two stories about government overreach.
Talk of former Texas congressman and presidential contender Ron Paul joining a possible second Trump Administration began with a tweet from AF Post announcing that Paul was seeking a job in the administration.
“Ron Paul says he wants to join Elon Musk to cut government waste in second Trump administration,” the Post wrote.
“We’re building a team,” @ALX responded in a quote-tweet.
Then Elon Musk replied, “Would be great to have Ron Paul as part of the Department of Government Efficiency!” Musk was referring to a hypothetical new government department that would target waste and overregulation with him at the helm, a project he first suggested around the time he became a figure in the Trump Campaign this year.
Paul fanned the flames of interest by quoting Musk, “I’d be happy to talk with you about it, Elon.”
This provoked a surge in interest in Paul’s ideas about reining in the reach of government. Clips of Paul discussing the abolition of the IRS, CIA, FBI circulated widely on X.
A video of Paul discussing an end to the Federal Reserve, an issue he is closely linked to, quickly received almost 300,000 views.
Ron Paul served multiple terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Texas’s 22nd and later the 14th congressional districts. Known for his libertarian-leaning views, he advocated for limited government, personal liberties, and non-interventionist foreign policy. He ran for president three times—in 1988 as the Libertarian Party nominee, and in 2008 and 2012 as a Republican.
As the Paul-led review of various historical accounts of governmental heavy-handedness carried the day, another story broke in New York.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) executed an action against Peanut, the viral social media squirrel with half a million social media followers. Law enforcement reportedly seized the squirrel and euthanized it to see if it had rabies.
The rodent’s masters are Mark Longo and his wife Daniela, two adult entertainment stars with a large following on OnlyFans, a platform that frequently hosts pornographic content.
Longo told TMZ that he had adopted the squirrel after it had been orphaned. They nursed the animal, raised it as a domesticated house pet along with other creatures, and gave it the name Peanut, sometimes spelled as P’Nut.
Longo also told the tabloid that the enforcement officers questioned Daniela’s immigration status and stopped him from feeding his horses until they left.
The DEC and New York’s Chemung County Department of Health reportedly said in a joint statement that they are “coordinating to ensure the protection of public health related to the illegal possession of wild animals that have the potential to carry the rabies virus.” Their action was reported to be predicated on several anonymous tips about a rabid animal on the premises.
However, rabies in squirrels is not common and it does not usually pose a risk to humans. “[Squirrels], whether wild or kept as pets, are rarely found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans,” the Wisconsin Department of Health Services says on its website.
There was a pronounced public outcry on social media and the occurrence was memed numerous times. Figures across the political spectrum denounced the killing.
“I was fine until they killed that cute little squirrel,” former Democrat presidential contender and author Marianne Williamson tweeted.
“Peanut’s senseless murder symbolizes what our country has become and why we need new leadership,” COVID-crusader Dr. Mary Talley Bowden posted.
“My grandma had a pet squirrel she adored. He brought her so much joy. It doesn’t reconcile that taxpayer dollars are going to harass people like this. Peanut was loved not just by his family, but by millions who got to see him online. Let’s remember what’s at stake here. Vote,” Nicole Shanahan, the scientist and former running mate to Robert F Kennedy Jr, said.
“Remember, if they’re willing to send a SWAT team to kill a squirrel, they’re willing to send one to kill you,” American Tribune Editor Will Tanner said.
Some users had fun with the topic. Referencing a memed special relationship between Trump and Japan’s assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one user wrote “Donald-san, we shall watch over from above,” along with an image of Abe and Peanut in heaven.
Another user edited an image to show Peanut watching over Trump in the White House in the stead of Jesus.
It was not far before countless observers were making a connection between Peanut and Paul’s broader thesis about government agencies being prone to overreach.
In what could interpreted as a reference to either the dialogue of Ron Paul or to the Hollywood film “Braveheart,” Elon Musk tweeted, “Vote For PNut! For Liberty! For Freedom!”
“Peanut the squirrel is the symbol of everything Ron Paul tried to warn us about,” one X user wrote.
“It’s three days until Election Day and out of the blue, here comes a million @RonPaul fans and #PeanutTheSquirrel posse to provide the reinforcements #TeamUnity needs to make this #TooBigToRig. RIP Peanut. #VoteTrump to defeat the communist fascists. Let’s go!!,” said another poster.
“Who had ‘Ron Paul and a squirrel named Peanut save the Republic’ on their 2024 bingo card,” Thomas Garrard posted.
This wave of events comes just before the Nov. 5 General Election for President of the United States and a variety of other national, state and local offices.