Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a top aide to President Trump, drew and quickly dismissed a raft of condemnation from Democratic lawmakers, left-wing politicians abroad and others across the internet after twice making what to some looked like a Nazi salute from an inauguration stage.
Musk — who has endorsed antisemitic remarks and aligned himself with far-right factions, including the Alternative for Germany in that country — made the gestures during a giddy speech celebrating Trump’s return to power at an indoor rally Monday at Capital One Arena in Washington.
“I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you,” Musk said to the crowd. He slapped his chest with his right hand and then shot that hand out and up, open and flat and palm down, with his right arm rigidly extended.
He then turned and made a similar gesture in the opposite direction. “My heart goes out to you,” he said.
Some defended Musk. The Anti-Defamation League, which works against antisemitism, offered Musk a pass with a post on X — a platform Musk owns.
“It seems [Musk] made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the group said. “In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath.”
Others disagreed sharply.
“Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote in response to ADL’s post on X. “People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) expressed shock at seeing Musk’s gesture at an inaugural event.
“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 wrote on X.
The concerns were echoed by left-wing politicians across Europe, and sparked a sharp debate online — where people compared videos of Musk and Hitler, side by side.
Others came to Musk’s defense. After one account on X called the uproar a “hoax” and part of what Musk himself had once called a “dirty tricks campaign” against him by liberals, Musk reposted the comment.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” he wrote, before adding a sleeping-face emoji.
Musk also suggested on X that debate over his gestures was evidence of “legacy media propaganda.”
On Tuesday, the matter was raised again — in Congress.
At a confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee for United Nations ambassador, Elise Stefanik, Sen. Christopher S. Murphy (D-Conn.) asked her what she thought of Musk “doing two ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes last night at the president’s televised rally?”
“No. Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” Stefanik said. She said Musk likes to cheer on Trump and is a visionary.
It was “simply not the case” that Musk made Nazi salutes, she said. “And to say so, the American people are smart — they see through it. They support Elon Musk.”
Murphy then noted that neo-Nazi and other far-right and white supremacist extremists around the country had made clear online that they believed Musk had made Nazi salutes — which they approved of and thanked him for — and asked Stefanik what she made of that.
Stefanik criticized Murphy for asking the question, and said both she and Trump have strong records of combating antisemitism.
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