Moo Deng makes prediction for the winner of US election – based on what cake she eats

With just one day until Election Day, beloved pygmy hippo Moo Deng has shared her prediction for the winner of the 2024 US presidential election.

The hippo, who shot to internet stardom this year, predicted which candidate will win tomorrow’s election when she was given the choice between two fruit cakes at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand. In the video, which was reportedly filmed on Monday (November 4), zookeepers offered Moo Deng two watermelons, one carved with the local spelling of Republican nominee Donald Trump’s name, and the other with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’s name.

The clip then showed Moo Deng eating the fruit cake that spelled out Trump, while the larger hippo in Moo Deng’s pen chowed down on the Harris watermelon.

Of course, the three-month-old hippo is not an American citizen… so she cannot vote. However, her prediction comes as national poll results show the two candidates neck-and-neck in the 2024 election.

The latest average of national polls, collated by FiveThirtyEight, shows Harris with a one-point lead over Trump. Nearly 75 million votes have already been cast at early voting sites over the last week, with 55 percent coming from women in support of Harris. This gap is expected to close on Tuesday once more ballots are cast in person on Election Day.

Moo Deng eats the fruit cake that spells out Republican nominee Donald Trump’s name (X/Twitter)
Moo Deng eats the fruit cake that spells out Republican nominee Donald Trump’s name (X/Twitter)

Democrats were hesitant to rejoice after an unexpected Selzer poll carried out for the Des Moines Register suggested that Harris was leading Trump in Iowa, a key swing state with six electoral college votes.

The vice president is set to take the stage at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday evening, where she’ll be joined by celebrities Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin, and The Roots. Meanwhile, Trump also appeared on Monday in Pennsylvania, where 19 of the 270 Electoral College votes are needed for a candidate to win the presidency.

Although Moo Deng’s prediction may not be entirely watertight, that hasn’t stopped the world from loving her any less. The baby hippo became a viral meme after zookeeper Atthapon Nundee posted videos of her bathing, playfully biting, and sleeping.

Moo Deng, whose name translates to “bouncy pork,” was born nearly four months ago at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi. According to the zoo, Moo Deng’s mother, Jona, is 25 years old, and her father, Tony, is 24. She is their seventh baby born at the zoo.