Beloved comic character’s fan account goes pro- Donald Trump; others revolt

The still beloved Peanuts beagle Snoopy was at the centre of a heavy political debate this past weekend. In a since-deleted social media post, a fan-run page dedicated to Charlie Brown’s canine pal enraged the Snoopy fan community by diving headfirst into political discourse and endorsing former President Donald Trump for November’s presidential elections.
Snoopy Weekly, a now-deleted account, had over 19,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter. The spotted beagle character again shot to fame in the past few years thanks to meme culture, resulting in the emergence of several Snoopy fan pages. However, the account in question dropped the casual fun antics associated with the animated cartoon figure’s resurgence, putting on its pro-Trump visage. This move ultimately drew heat and backlash from a significantly massive faction of the fan community.
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According to widely circulated screenshots of the original post, @snoopyweekly’s tweet began: “More take home pay, a secure border, and a government that prioritised prosperity for its tax paying citizens rather than illegal immigrants.”
The anonymous admins of the page continued, “This election season, @snoopyweekly proudly endorses Donald J. Trump for President of the United States
Kamala Harris may have ‘come from a middle class family,’ but this account is run by an actual middle class family.”
The post concluded: “We started this profile last year as a distraction from the difficult economic times, with the hope of bringing happiness to others who were going through the same. We want better for our family and our great country. Make America Great Again (US flag emoji).”
The Snoopy fan account pushed the tweet with an animated image of Trump shaking the beloved pup’s hand.
A user fumed in response to the tweet: “You may have deleted the tweet but we all saw it and snoopy hates you btw.” More comments ensued as members of the community picked their alternative favourite fan pages on the microblogging platform.
Some even spoke on behalf of Peanuts comic strip creator Charles M Schulz. “(He) was a religious man, but he also believed staunchly in equality and love!!! Snoopy would never endorse that man!” wrote another user.
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Meanwhile, other fans quipped how Snoopy was a fictional character and couldn’t actually vote in the elections. Some Trump supporters also joined the heated debate and replied, “Based snoopy endorsed the leader of our age.”
As more and more ire was directed towards the old fan page, some Snoopy enthusiasts offered context about why the comments like “F*ck Snoopyweekly” were on the rise on the SNS platform. “For those outside the snoopy community, snoopyweekly recently made an aggressive fascistic push. dailysnoopys is the way to go.” The latter page appears more left-leaning on the political front as its admins have noticeably attached a link to US actions affiliated with the call for a ceasefire in Gaza in their bio.
As fans dove into the divisive discussion about whom the animated pup would endorse in this year’s presidential elections despite its fictional existence, some recalled how Peanuts’ official page had once issued a notice regarding the socio-political climate in the US in 2020.
“Like many around the world, the team at Peanuts Worldwide has been impacted by recent events, notably the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks. We have used this time to reflect inwardly; to check in on our team and listen to the voices of our staff. Peanuts Worldwide stands with the Black, Indigenous and POC community within our organisation around the world. We know there is much to be done to address the racial inequalities in our society and are actively listening, learning, and working toward making changes in our company, our industry, and supporting the broader global community. This is not an effort to be taken lightly; we are looking forward to enacting real change together,” read an extract from the years-old post.
The animated pup’s comic avatar debuted in October 1950. Historian Blake Scott Ball’s book ‘Charlie Brown’s America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts’ addressed how a lot of readers viewed Peanuts as “so universal, so unoffensive” and intrinsically linked it to its supposed “apolitical” ideology. The author countered the widespread belief in a phone interview as reported by NBC News, “When in fact, Shulz was really good at asking questions that challenged people on both sides about controversial issues, including school prayer, the draft in Vietnam and women’s rights.”
“Snoopy has always been, in one way or another, sort of in the political discourse,” Scott Ball added.
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On his Medium blog, the author elaborated, “ There’s not much any individual can do to change the world. Despite it, though, Schulz believed there was still a right thing for a person to do: follow your conscience and keep the faith in democracy,” indirectly citing Schulz, who “believed that given a fair shot, Americans would find (and make) the right choice.”
The Snoopy creator “elevated characters like Franklin, the first Black character in a mainstream comic strip, and Peppermint Patty, a gender-fluid child from a broken home, into the national conversation,” Ball wrote. “Yes, Charles Schulz believed that democracy would guide the way.”
Although a Peanuts spokesperson has yet to comment on the latest issue officially, its official website conspicuously declares that these creations, though fictional, are far from apolitical. Peanuts.com directs users to the PeanutsRocksTheVote.com link. Distantly tuned to the pervasive elections fever, this website shows various Peanuts characters also contesting in elections. The page indirectly urges people to vote in the real-life US elections as well: “Afterwards, click the “Register to Vote” button to visit Rock the Vote’s website where you can check your registration status for the U.S. Election under How To Vote or make sure to register if you aren’t already.” Rock the Vote a nonpartisan non-profit organisation “dedicated to building the political power of young people,” which makes “democratic participation more accessible” and defends “young people’s right to vote.”