Multiple news crews stationed outside the White House earlier this week were sent fleeing after a highly aggressive raccoon went on the attack, reports the Daily Wire.
Paula Reid of CBS News broke news of the attack on Twitter. The angry little bandit first targeted a photographer and one correspondent.
“Strong Pawnee vibes at White House this morning as a raccoon attacked multiple news crews on North Lawn,” Reid wrote, referring to the fictional town in the comedy series “Parks & Recreation.”
“🦝 allegedly grabbed pant leg of a photographer & then a corespondent [sic] before being fended off,” she wrote.
All journalists present for Monday morning’s attack survived with no injuries, and the White House says it is taking steps to keep raccoons away from journalists from now on, reports the Daily Wire.
“UPDATE: Sources tell @CBSNews White House reaching out to @USGSA about aggressive 🦝 who allegedly attacked crews this AM,” Reid wrote, referring to the U.S. General Services Administration, which handles property-related concerns for government buildings, including the White House.
Raccoons apparently continue to have a heavy presence at White House press calls and have a record of attacking journalists on White House grounds. The Daily Beast reports that raccoons are a big problem at the White House, with at least one reporter being attacked in 2017.
In April that year, The Daily Beast wrote: “The White House was invaded this morning by unwelcomed guests: a group of raccoons that evaded capture by the National Park Service.”
As far back as 2009, the National Park Service, with permission from the Secret Service, has been in hot pursuit of packs of raccoons spotted on the White House grounds, reports The Washington Post.
“‘The idea of raccoons on the White House grounds give us great pause,’ spokesman Bill Burton said. The Washington Post reports that ‘one very large raccoon and several medium-sized raccoons’ were seen on the grounds and have managed to avoid the ‘live traps’ (with apples, cat food, and peanut butter) set up to nab the animals.”
Claims on social media that President Trump, who has a combative relationship with journalists, trained the raccoons to attack have been unfounded.
“We need a distraction!” one user on Twitter imagined the president saying. “We’ve used up all of our distractions. [low, ominous] Release the raccoons.”
White House communications specialist Alyssa Farah took the side of the raccoons, suggesting they be added to the reporter pool. “Starting a petition to add the WH raccoons to the pool rotation,” she tweeted.
“I did not have ‘Raccoons defend White House against the Enemy of the People’ on my 2020 bingo card. I don’t mind it, though,” one Twitter user wrote, according to the Daily Wire.
George Conway, a Never Trumper and spouse of former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway, attempted to get into the fun as well with his own “boomer humor” tweet, writing “The raccoons are mad they pay more in taxes than Trump”.
The Hill attempted to get in on the fun as well. “The Hill has reached out to the National Park Service and the General Services Administration for comment on the raccoon incident. The raccoons could not be reached for comment,” the outlet reported late Monday. “No evidence has emerged to suggest the raccoons were politically motivated.”
On Tuesday, Reid reported that journalists had discovered a trap set up outside the White House to apprehend the feisty, media-hating scavenger, with authorities using marshmallows as bait.
As of Wednesday morning, Reid noticed the trap had been shut and the bait was missing and that CBS News crews noticed a raccoon roaming the grounds that morning but had “no comment” on the missing marshmallow.