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2025-01-23 03:29:08 UTC
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PermalinkNazi salute
Musk says he's a fan of Hitler because he's a racist South African white
man.
JTA When Elon Musk gave his own victory speech following US President
Donald Trumps inauguration, it was something he did rather than
something he said that ignited the biggest reaction.
The billionaire, who was Trumps top donor during the 2024 election, told a
crowd in Washington, DC: This is what victory feels like. Then he saluted
those in attendance, twice, with a straight-armed salute.
My heart goes out to you, Musk then said. It is thanks to you that the
future of civilization is assured.
To some of his supporters and fans, the salute appeared to be a gesture of
his gratitude that was distorted as clips were shared on social media. To
many others, mostly among his critics but also including some on the far
right, it bore an uncanny resemblance to the straight-armed, palm-down
salute of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.
For the record, the distance between Trump declaring that he was saved by
God to make America great again & Musk delivering the Hitler salute was
less than 4 hours, tweeted Steve Schmidt, a former Republican operative
turned critic of the party with 1.4 million followers on X, the social
network Musk owns.
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My first glimpse of the inauguration is Elon Musk grabbing his chest and
throwing a seig heil. Not encouraging, tweeted Mike Rothschild, a writer
whose books, including Jewish Space Lasers, examine antisemitic
conspiracy theories on the far right.
Full video:pic.twitter.com/OoJHbegUq7
Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) January 20, 2025
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Jerry Nadler, a Jewish Democratic congressman from Manhattan, called the
gesture antisemitic and said other officials should condemn it.
I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil
Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal, Nadler tweeted.
This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the
darkest chapters of human history. I urge all of my colleagues to unite in
condemning this hateful gesture for what it is: antisemitism.
Around the same time as Nadlers tweet, the Anti-Defamation League
antisemitism watchdog group issued its own ruling: not a Nazi salute.
The ADL has tangled with Musk over hate speech regulation on X; the groups
CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, has also praised Musks business acumen.
This is a delicate moment. Its a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our
politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety. It seems
that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a
Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge, the group
tweeted.
In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps
even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath, the ADL added. This is
a new beginning. Lets hope for healing and work toward unity in the months
and years ahead.
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Jonathan Greenblatt speaks onstage during the 2024 ADL In Concert Against
Hate at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on November 18, 2024 in Washington,
DC. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images via AFP)
The reaction underscores the sensitivity of the moment, with many Americans
on the lookout for signs that Trumps second term will empower far-right
extremists within the United States. Some see Musk, who has removed a range
of guardrails against hate speech on X and recently championed far-right
extremists in Germany and the United Kingdom, as the most influential
avatar of that potential.
CNN stopped its broadcast of Musks speech for two anchors to discuss what
one called an odd-looking salute.
The anchors did not explicitly compare Musks gesture to a Heil Hitler
salute. (Trumps legal team previously sued CNN over its on-air hosts
comparisons of his rhetoric to that of the Nazis, seeking $475 million in a
suit that a Trump-appointed federal judge later dismissed.) But Kasie Hunt
noted that Musk is a supporter of a German far-right party and made the
analogy obliquely.
Yes, that salute was evocative of things that we have seen throughout
history, Hunt said. She also signaled that she believed Musks supporters
would understand the salute the same way she had, saying, I think our
viewers are smart and they can take a look at that but its not something
you typically see at American political rallies.
The Nazi salute was itself borrowed from Italian fascists, who adapted it
from the ancient Romans. Musk has venerated (and shared imagery of himself
in) ancient Rome and has suggested America faces problems like those that
led to the end of the Roman Empire.
Musk dismissed criticism of the hand gesture as a tired attack.
Elon Musk listens as US President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath
of office at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the US
Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
The Jewish pro-Trump pundit Batya Ungar-Sargon, who sides with Musk on
speech issues but disagrees with him on the value of issuing visas to
workers from abroad, said she attributed his gesture to his famous
awkwardness.
As a person with a *strong* track record of criticizing Elon Musk, I feel
extremely confident asserting that this was not a Nazi salute, she
tweeted. Elon Musk is a friend to the Jews. This is a man with Aspergers
exuberantly throwing his heart to the crowd. We dont need to invent
outrage.
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Later, she posted again about Musks gesture with a reference to a
scientific theory under which a hypothetical subject can be seen in
multiple ways with equal accuracy.
Man its not even 5 p.m. on Inauguration Day and we already have a
Schroedingers Nazi salute, Ungar-Sargon wrote. Gonna be a long four
years
And whatever Musk meant, its clear that some on the far right saw
something they recognized in his gesture.
I dont care if this was a mistake, wrote the neo-Nazi Christopher
Pohlhaus on Telegram. Im going to enjoy the tears over it.
Reuters contributed to this report.