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Musk
repeatedly makes gesture likened to 'Nazi salute' at Trump rally
Billionaire
Elon Musk, a staunch ally of newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump,
performed back-to-back salutes at a rally following the Republican president's
inauguration Monday, placing his right hand flat on his heart before raising it
palm-down in a gesture that evoked the Nazi salute still popular with far-right
groups.
Issued on:
21/01/2025 - 09:40
Billionaire
Elon Musk sparked controversy Monday after making a gesture at an event
celebrating US President Donald Trump's inauguration, with some calling it a
"Nazi" or "fascist" movement.
The X,
SpaceX and Tesla chief appeared on stage at the Capital One Arena in
Washington, where supporters of the newly inaugurated president had gathered
for a rally.
Upon
thanking the crowd for returning the 78-year-old Republican to the White House,
Musk tapped the left side of his chest with his right hand and then extended
his arm with his palm open, repeating the gesture for the crowd seated behind
him.
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Claire
Aubin, a historian who specializes in Nazism within the United States, agreed
Musk's gesture was a "sieg heil," or Nazi salute.
"My
professional opinion is that you're all right, you should believe your
eyes," Aubin posted on X, aligning with those who found the gesture was an
overt reference to Nazis.
Musk later
posted on X that his opponents needed "better dirty tricks".
"The
'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired," he said.
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Ruth
Ben-Ghiat, a historian of fascism, also found the gesture "was a Nazi
salute -- and a very belligerent one too," she said on X.
Democratic
Party members also quickly responded with alarm.
Congressman
Jimmy Gomez reacted to the moment by posting on X: "Well, that didn't take
long."
One attendee
at the rally told AFP he thought Musk was making the gesture as a joke.
"He's
very humorous, and he uses a lot of sarcasm. So when he did that on the stage,
I don't think he meant it," said Brandon Galambos, a 29-year-old pastor
and tech worker.
Reports by
Wired and Rolling Stone magazines said far-right personalities in the United
States were celebrating the move, like the writer Evan Kilgore, who called the
salute "incredible."
Musk has
also made several statements in recent weeks in support of Germany's far-right
AfD party and British anti-immigration party Reform UK.
The Anti
Defamation League (ADL), an organization founded to combat anti-Semitism which
has criticized Musk in the past, defended his actions this time around.
"It
seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a
Nazi salute," the organization said in a statement posted on X.
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Democratic
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted the ADL's reaction, saying on
X: "Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was
performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity."
Another
historian, Aaron Astor, also rebuffed accusations of Musk's Nazi emulation.
"I have
criticized Elon Musk many times for letting neo-Nazis pollute this
platform," he wrote on X, adding: "But this gesture is not a Nazi
salute."
"This
is a socially awkward autistic man's wave to the crowd where he says 'my heart
goes out to you.'"
In 2021,
Musk announced he had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of
autism.
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