Elon Musk caused astonishment on Monday January 20 during a Donald Trump meeting in Washington by twice performing a salute that some described as “fascist” or “Nazi”, while others defended “a gesture clumsy”.
The boss of X, SpaceX and Tesla gave a speech on stage at the Capital One Arena, where supporters of Donald Trump had gathered for a meeting of the new American president a few hours after his inauguration. He thanked the crowd for allowing the billionaire’s return to the White House, before tapping his left chest with his right hand, then extending his arm with an open palm. He then repeated the gesture, turning to the rest of the crowd behind him.
Historian Claire Aubin, a specialist in Nazism in the United States, estimated that Elon Musk’s gesture was indeed a “sieg heil”, the Nazi salute. “Well, it didn’t take long,” Democratic congressman Jimmy Gomez criticized on X, in reaction to an image of the richest man in the world making this salute on stage. Another expert historian on fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat also affirmed on X that “it was indeed a Nazi salute, and one which was very aggressive at that”.
An “incredible” gesture
Some foreign daily newspapers like the Israeli Haaretz or the British The Guardian claimed the American billionaire “appeared” to have performed a “fascist” or “fascist-style” salute.
“It seems like he had it inside him for a while and he was finally able to let it go,” said former Democratic congresswoman Cori Bush on the mirror to find the exact angle,” she quipped.
According to the magazine Wiredmany far-right personalities in the United States rejoiced at the event, such as columnist Evan Kilgore, who praised an “incredible” gesture.
In recent weeks, Elon Musk has increased his declarations of support for the far-right German party AfD, but also for the far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, or for the British anti-immigration party Reform UK. “Elon Musk knew precisely what he was doing with that fascist Roman salute at the Trump rally today – which is part of his explicit embrace of far-right policies and parties,” Amy said in a statement. Spitalnick, patron of the Jewish organization JCPA.
“Moment of enthusiasm”
For Brandon Galambos, a 29-year-old pastor who was present in the meeting room, the businessman’s gesture was above all “humorous”. “He’s very funny and he uses sarcasm a lot,” he told AFP. “Obviously the left is going to pick up on this and say he’s a Nazi or whatever, but I think it was just humorous the way he did it.”
The ADL association for the fight against anti-Semitism, which has clashed with the billionaire in the past, this time came to his defense. “It appears that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the organization wrote on . “You are defending a repeated ‘Heil Hitler’ salute,” the Democrat replied on X. “People can officially stop looking to you as a credible source of information,” she added.
For historian Aaron Astor, the billionaire’s salute should not be categorized as Nazi. “I have criticized Elon Musk many times for letting neo-Nazis pollute this platform,” he wrote on X before adding: “But this gesture is not a Nazi salute. is a socially awkward hand signal from an autistic man where he says to the crowd ‘my heart goes out to you'”. Elon Musk announced in 2021 that he had Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.
Initially silent, Elon Musk ended up reacting to the emerging controversy: “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is so outdated,” he brushed off on X, denouncing “a twisted move.”