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Musk repeating the salute before saying, "My heart goes out to you."[1]
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On January 20, 2025, while speaking at a rally celebrating U.S. president Donald Trump's second inauguration, businessman and political figure Elon Musk twice made a salute interpreted by some as a Nazi or a fascist Roman salute.[a]

Multiple European political parties demanded that Musk be banned from entering their countries. Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups celebrated the salutes.[3] On his own social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), Musk dismissed the accusations of Nazi sympathies, derided them as being politicized,[4][5][3] and described them as a "tired" attack.[6][7] The Anti-Defamation League said it was not a Nazi salute, but other Jewish organizations have condemned the gesture.

Inauguration, speech, and gestures

On January 20, 2025, the second inauguration of Donald Trump took place after his victory in the 2024 United States presidential election. Many people were invited, including Elon Musk.[8] Musk was influential to Trump's campaign as the second-largest donor. Trump designated him to co-head the Department of Government Efficiency during Trump's second presidency.[9][10]

After the inauguration, Musk attended a celebratory rally at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., where he thanked the attendees for voting for Trump.[11] Musk jumped onto the stage, started throwing his hands in the air, and then began to dance.[12] After he finished dancing, Musk placed his hand to his heart and extended his arm out above his head with his palm facing down, making a straight-arm gesture. He then turned around and repeated the gesture to the audience behind him.[11][13] He then said, "My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured" after he finished the gestures.[13] My heart goes out to you is a phrase typically used to show "sorrow or sympathy" for someone, rather than an expression of thanks.[14]

Reactions

United States

Protest at the Department of Treasury; in the center, two women can be seen holding signs with Musk's gesture, calling him a felon and a thief.
Protest at the Department of Treasury; in the center, two women can be seen holding signs with Musk's gesture, calling him a felon and a thief.

The incident quickly sparked online comparisons to the Nazi salute.[11][15] While watching the rally, CNN anchor Erin Burnett said that the action was "striking".[11] Some commentators have attributed the gesture to Musk's self-diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome.[16][17] Musk, however, has never been medically diagnosed with autism or Asperger's syndrome.[18] Several autistic people and therapists interviewed by journalist James McNaney of the Belfast Telegraph have objected to the notion that being on the autism spectrum would cause Musk to make this gesture.[19] In an article for The New York Times, Berlin bureau chief Katrin Bennhold wrote that "it looked a lot like the salute used in Germany and fascist Italy" but that "a striking number of different interpretations began to circulate", also drawing comparisons to the Bellamy salute.[7] Pulitzer Center fellow Alec Luhn said that, "Slavic neo-Nazis do a similar salute, to the point that the phrase 'from the heart to the sun' often serves as a stand-in for actually doing the salute."[20]

A protestor in front of a Tesla showroom mocking Elon Musk as a Nazi

The Anti-Defamation League came to Musk's defense, stating in an X post: "It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute", adding, "In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning."[21][22] However, former ADL national director Abraham Foxman described the gesture as a "Heil Hitler Nazi salute".[23] Jewish News said that the ADL appeared to be contradicting its own definition of a Nazi salute,[22] which the ADL defines as "raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down".[24] IfNotNow, a progressive Jewish group, said it was "appalled" that the ADL had "glossed over Musk's Nazi gesture, admonishing those of us who were aghast at the Hitler salute to give Musk 'the benefit of the doubt' — even as the ADL assumes the worst intentions of those in the movement for Palestinian human rights".[22] Aaron Astor, a history professor at Tennessee's Maryville College, defended the ADL's stance on X, stating that it was "not a Nazi salute". Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and fascism at New York University, said that it was "a Nazi salute – and a very belligerent one too".[25] The ADL declined to say how it had reached this conclusion when asked by Jewish News and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.[22] ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt later expressed regret that he had not "framed" the tweet differently given "the impact that it had".[26]

Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization specializing in civil rights, referred to it as an "apparent Nazi salute" and noted it had "ignited a firestorm of controversy".[27] Several academics with expertise on extremism have agreed to describing the gesture as a Nazi salute.[25][20] The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention responded to the "Nazi salute" by issuing a red flag alert for genocide in the United States.[28][29]

Jerry Nadler, a Jewish Democratic congressman from Manhattan, called the gesture antisemitic.[30] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democratic congresswoman, condemned Musk's gestures and implied that he was sympathetic to Nazism.[31][32] Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz said that Musk's gesture was "of course" a Nazi salute.[33] Musk said on Twitter that he would considering suing Walz for this statement.[33] Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene defended Musk, accusing news outlets of lying about him and spreading "propaganda to serve the Democrat party".[34] Israeli professor at Columbia and pro-Israel activist Shai Davidai said, "I don't care who you are, doing a Nazi salute is never ok."[35] Republican representative Elise Stefanik, Trump's nominee to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, defended Musk at her confirmation hearing.[36][37] On the late-night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, cast members James Austin Johnson (as Trump) and Michael Che lampooned the moment in the show's cold open and Weekend Update segment.[38][39][40] During a CNN NewsNight discussion, Scott Jennings, conservative political strategist and former Bush staffer, said critics who accused Musk of doing a Nazi salute were "suffering from progression of Trump derangement syndrome", and told them to "lawyer up". Catherine Rampell challenged him to repeat the gesture on air, which he did not.[41][42]

A YouGov survey of US citizens found that, after watching a video of the salute, 42% said that it was a Nazi salute or a Roman salute (37% and 5%, respectively) and 42% said that it was a "gesture from the heart". Of those who said it was a Nazi salute, 49% said it was on purpose, to indicate support for Nazi views, and 30% said it was done as a joke or to provoke controversy. 4% said it was an accident and 15% were not sure. 73% of Harris voters said that it was a Nazi or Roman salute, and 16% a gesture from the heart, while 79% of Trump voters said it was a gesture from the heart, and 11% a Nazi or Roman salute.[43]

International

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, defended Musk on X, stating that Musk "is being falsely smeared" and calling him "a great friend of Israel".[44][45] Haaretz covered the event with a headline, "Elon Musk appears to make fascist salute at Trump inauguration rally."[46] Following Musk's speech, Andrea Stroppa, Musk's representative in Italy, posted the image of him on X along with the caption, "Roman Empire is back, starting with the Roman salute." Later, he removed the post, stating that Musk "is autistic" and that he was just expressing his feelings without emulating fascism.[3] An Italian communist youth organization, Cambiare Rotta, hung a doll of Musk upside down in Piazzale Loreto, a square in Milan where Mussolini's body was hung in the same manner by partisans after he was executed during the final days of World War II.[3] Italian journalist Roberto Saviano attacked Elon Musk in a Facebook post, stating, "The end of all this will be violent. His fall will be equal to that of those to whom it historically refers with this gesture. Musk will fall at the hands of those he now incites fueled by the same violence he practices."[47]

When asked about the incident, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that Europe will not accept support for extreme-right positions. Musk reacted to the remarks on X by mocking Scholz.[48][49] The German party The Left called for Musk to be banned from entering Germany, citing both the gestures and Musk's past support for Germany's far-right AfD party and his continued interference in European politics.[50] Austria's Green Party also called for a similar ban.[51] Austrian green politician Lukas Hammer called both Interior and Foreign Ministries to consider the possibility of denying Musk's entry.[52] British anti-Brexit activist group, Led By Donkeys, projected an image of Musk's gesture onto the Tesla Gigafactory in the city of Berlin with the phrase "Heil Tesla", accompanied by social media posts which criticized Musk's political views.[53][54][55] Later, the German law enforcement launched an investigation into the image projected by the group, stating that it may have breached German laws on the use of symbols linked to illegal organizations.[55]

Yolanda Díaz, the Spanish minister of labor and longtime member of the Communist Party of Spain, announced that she would quit using X in response to the gesture. She also accused Musk of turning X into a "propaganda mechanism".[47][56] Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, condemned Musk, stating, "They cannot say anything to justify it. This is an open Nazi salute, the Americans and Mr. Musk have simply taken this too far." Lukashenko also stated, "Why do you go on stage and do the Hitler salute in front of millions of people? Are you doing anyone good? We, together with the Americans, fought against it. It's just nuts."[57] Argentina's President Javier Milei defended Musk at the World Economic Forum's meeting in the city of Davos, Milei stated that his "dear friend Musk" has been "unfairly vilified by 'wokeism' in recent hours for an innocent gesture that only means his gratitude to the people". He also said, "forums like this one have been protagonists and promoters of the sinister agenda of 'wokeism' that is doing so much harm to the West", referring to the World Economic Form in Davos.[58][59]

Jewish groups and Holocaust survivors

The Simon Wiesenthal Center said that Musk's actions raised "serious concerns", and that his "unexpected double salute, which resembled gestures associated with troubling historical connotations, is challenging to understand". It called on him to "clarify or apologize" for the gesture.[60] The Jewish Council for Public Affairs released a statement saying, "Elon Musk knows precisely what he was doing with his fascist Roman salute at today’s Trump rally – which follows his explicit embrace of far-right parties and policies."[61] The Jerusalem Post said that many Jewish groups accused Musk of performing an "unambiguous" Nazi salute.[62]

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said that Musk's salute was neither ambiguous nor just a distraction, but would be taken by extremists "as license for their own violent extremism", and was part of a pattern in Musk's behavior, including his support for the German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland and the increase in extremism he has allowed on Twitter, which she said contributed to normalizing antisemitic and extremist views.[63] She gave the example of Musk's endorsement of a Twitter post in November 2023 that claimed that Jewish people promote "hatred against whites" and support immigration by "hordes of minorities",[63] which Musk commented was "the actual truth".[64] He later apologised and called it his "worst and dumbest" post.[63] Spitalnick questioned this apology, and said that Musk's "embrace of antisemitism and extremism" will make Jews and other communities less safe.[63]

Michel Friedman, German former Christian Democrat politician and former deputy chair of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, described Musk's gestures as a "disgrace" that showed that "the breaking of taboos is reaching a dangerous point for the entire free world".[65][66] In Canada, Holocaust survivor David Moskovic stated he was alarmed by Musk's salute.[67] A coalition of Jewish organizations in the US and Canada announced that they would be leaving X in response to the incident.[68] Some asset managers have received pressure from Jewish investors to sell Tesla stock in response.[69]

On the same day as his salutes, January 20, 2025, ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Musk addressed attendees at an AfD rally by videolink, where he stated that there is "too much focus on past guilt", suggesting that children should not be held accountable for their ancestors' actions and warned against the 'dilution' of the German people resulting from multiculturalism. According to The New York Times, Musk's comments were "an apparent effort to wipe away the long shadow of the Nazis that has influenced generations of Germans to quarantine extreme political parties from public life".[70]

Far-right

Numerous neo-Nazi and white nationalist figures expressed support for Musk's gestures. Thomas Sewell, an Australian neo-Nazi, posted a video of Musk's gestures, describing it as a "Donald Trump White Power moment".[20] Nick Fuentes, founder of the white nationalist group Groypers, described the gesture as "straight up like 'Sieg Heil', like loving Hitler energy".[71] The admin of a Telegram channel run by the white supremacist Active Club Network (whose members have themselves been recorded making Nazi salutes)[72] said, "They follow us. Our ideas are on top. Musk knows it. We know it. Everybody wanna be us. Even the world's richest guy", before adding, "But he is still what he is. A nerd."[73] Mark Collett, a neo-Nazi and leader of far-right hate group Patriotic Alternative, said that Trump and Musk have "certainly helped to up the rhetoric and help to normalise certain things", and that, "if we can get anything out of it – we should."[73] Christopher Pohlhaus, leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, posted on Telegram, "I don't care if this was a mistake. I'm going to enjoy the tears over it." Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social media platform Gab, said, "Incredible things are happening already lmao."[35][74] A Proud Boys chapter posted a clip of Musk's video to its Telegram channel with the text, "Hail Trump!"[75] White supremacist movement White Lives Matter also reacted to Musk's gestures in Telegram with the message, "Thanks for (sometimes) hearing us, Elon. The White Flame will rise again!"[76]

Two weeks after the incident, rapper Kanye West posted several antisemitic and pro-Nazi comments on Twitter,[77] among which was an uploaded image of Musk's gesture captioned "heil Elon" in all capitals.[78] West said, "Elon stole my Nazi swag at the inauguration."[79]

Others

Many users on X, the social media platform which Musk owns, criticized the gesture, saying it resembled a Nazi salute.[80] Some of Musk's supporters on Twitter said that it was a Roman salute.[20] In response to Musk's gestures, many major subreddits on Reddit instituted new rules banning links to or screenshots of X posts.[4][81] Sam Kuffel, a meteorologist at CBS 58 in Milwaukee, was fired after she criticized the gesture in two Instagram posts.[82] Musk's estranged daughter Vivian Wilson spoke out about Musk's gesture, stating, "I'm just gonna say let's call a spade a fucking spade" on Instagram's Threads platform on January 21.[83] Elon Musk's father, Errol, defended Musk. Errol called the accusations against Elon "absolute nonsense" and "rubbish".[84]

Musk's reaction to criticism

Elon Musk responded to criticism of his alleged salute on January 21 on his X account, including calling all news outlets criticizing him biased. He wrote that "The legacy media is pure propaganda", that "they need better dirty tricks", and that "the 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired".[6][85] After the gestures were described as a "Nazi salute" on his Wikipedia page, Musk reiterated his previous criticism against the website, calling for its "defunding".[86][87][88][89] On January 23, three days after the incident, Musk made a series of Nazi-themed puns on social media as a reaction to the controversy, which the Anti-Defamation League (after previously defending his behavior) called "offensive" and "inappropriate".[90] The U.S. newspaper The Hill said he used the puns "to taunt those who accused him of making a fascist salute".[90]

In a discussion with Joe Rogan on a podcast published on February 28, Musk reiterated, "I'm not a Nazi", also saying, "What is actually bad about Nazis — it wasn't their fashion or their mannerisms, it was the war and genocide."[91]

Copycat incidents

British political commentator Calvin Robinson gave a speech at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, D.C., which concluded with him stating "My heart goes out to you" and performing a gesture that was described as a "pro-Nazi salute" in a statement released the same day by the Anglican Catholic Church. The alleged Nazi salute was seen as an imitation of Musk's actions by commentators. The church announced that Robinson's license in his church had been revoked and was no longer a priest of the ACC,[92][93] and the entire editorial team at his gaming news website, God is a Geek, resigned in protest.[94] The Anglican Catholic Church said, "We believe that those who mimic the Nazi salute, even as a joke or an attempt to troll their opponents, trivialize the horror of the Holocaust and diminish the sacrifice of those who fought against its perpetrators. Such actions are harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity."[93]

Laura Smith, the Towamencin Township supervisor in Pennsylvania, resigned after posting a TikTok video of her appearing to replicate Musk's gesture. She later deleted the video.[95]

A real estate agent in San Antonio made a social media video in which she imitated Musk's salute and said, "My heart goes out to you." Her employer, RD Realty Group, subsequently dismissed her and referred to her as having made "an offensive gesture".[96]

The CEO of an Idaho construction company apologized and later resigned[97] after performing the salute during a skit at a company event. He said his performance of the salute was an "attempt at humor and parody" meant to "mimic Donald Trump and Elon Musk", and that he "reject[ed] any association with hate groups".[98][99]

Steve Bannon, who previously served as Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to Donald Trump in 2017, appeared to replicate Musk's salute during a speech at the 2025 CPAC, drawing applause from the audience. Unlike Musk, Bannon did not place his hand to his heart or state "My heart goes out to you".[100]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The "Roman salute" is a gesture which was used by Italian Fascists, then adopted by the Nazis. It is not believed to have been used by ancient Romans.[2]

References

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