A Snoopy fan account was slammed for going full MAGA in a way that many felt disrespected the beloved character’s legacy and that of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.
Cartoonist Schulz created Snoopy in the 1950s, debuting him in his Peanuts comic strip. The anthropomorphic beagle is Charlie Brown’s pet and has grown to become one of the most popular and recognizable cartoon dogs. Loyal, intelligent, imaginative, and always several steps ahead of his owner, Snoopy has stood the test of time and continues to be loved by new and old audiences alike. In 2015, Snoopy was even awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, next to Schulz’s. In addition to the official Peanuts page on Twitter, numerous fan pages devoted to Snoopy have cropped up on social media.
These accounts spread the love and wholesome legacy of Snoopy by sharing old clips of the character, editing him into memes, and using the character to raise awareness for good causes, such as donating baby supplies to families in Gaza.
However, the Snoopy fandom was outraged when one fan account, @snoopyweekly, suddenly went full MAGA on the platform and suggested the beloved cartoon character would support Donald Trump.
What did SnoopyWeekly do?
Recently, @snoopyweekly, a verified account on X, made several Tweets endorsing Trump. In one now-deleted tweet, the user wrote, “This election season, @snoopyweekly proudly endorses Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.” The post went on to throw a jab at Kamala Harris by suggesting she wasn’t from an “actual” middle-class family. Meanwhile, @snoopyweekly claimed the whole reason it started the account was to serve as a “distraction from the difficult economic times.” The post concluded with, “Make America Great Again.”
In a second Tweet, @snoopyweekly shared a fan-made cartoon of Snoopy shaking hands with Trump.
The posts instantly drew criticism from the Snoopy fandom. While the account wasn’t officially affiliated with Snoopy or the Peanuts, the blue verification mark and Snoopy profile picture could mislead some users. Since the account owner doesn’t even sign their name at the end of the endorsement, they make it seem as if Snoopy himself wrote it. Meanwhile, Snoopy fans were quite sure that Snoopy would never have endorsed Trump or hateful MAGA rhetoric. After all, few cartoon characters are as wholesome and beloved as Snoopy. It makes sense for Snoopy to advocate and raise awareness for families in Gaza, but it doesn’t make sense to suddenly attach his name to a far-right extremist and convicted criminal like Trump.
Users pointed out that @snoopyweekly didn’t just disrespect Snoopy’s legacy but also Schulz’s legacy. Schulz wasn’t very vocal about politics, but there is evidence that he wouldn’t have supported Trump. Once, he took the time to respond to a letter he received from a schoolboy asking, “What makes a good citizen.” In his thoughtful response, he suggested that it was often those who are “the loudest in favor of getting back to what they call ‘American Virtues’ who lack” the most faith in America. He concluded, “I believe that our greatest strength lies always in protecting our smallest minorities.”
Schulz also took small steps towards promoting inclusivity, such as debuting Franklin, an African American character, in Peanuts, after a Los Angeles school teacher, Harriet Glickman, encouraged him to do so in support of the Civil Rights Movement. While it’s difficult to say what Schulz would or wouldn’t do today, these instances make it hard to imagine he’d have backed MAGA. The fact that the character’s owner, Peanuts Worldwide, also spoke out in support of the Black, Indigenous, and POC community after the death of George Floyd further confirms that @snoopyweekly completely ignored and went against Peanuts’ legacy and current commitments.
It seems the backlash was effective, as @snoopyweekly deleted their tweets and deactivated their account after the incident. Users are entitled to post their political opinions, but they may want to think twice before attributing extreme ideologies to a beloved cartoon character with such a wholesome legacy.
Published: Oct 8, 2024 04:16 pm