Elon Musk fires back at criticism of his Nazi salute at Trump rally
Elon Musk defends himself against backlash after his controversial Nazi salute at the Trump rally.

Elon Musk left audiences stunned on Monday afternoon when he appeared to make what resembled a Nazi salute during his speech marking the inauguration of Donald Trump. Videos of the incident quickly began circulating on social media, prompting Musk to respond directly. On X, the platform he owns, the billionaire dismissed the claims as “dirty tricks” and argued that “the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
The problem with this defense is that, in recent years, Musk has openly displayed his political leanings, which have sparked controversy. In some cases, he has been forced to retract statements after being accused of antisemitism or expressing other bigoted views.
Musk’s defense rings hallow
For example, in November 2023, Musk responded to a post accusing Jewish communities of “pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” The post, written after the attacks of October 7th, went on to express indifference toward “western Jewish populations” facing hostility from groups they had supported. Musk replied, “You speak the truth,” a statement widely condemned across the political spectrum as antisemitic. Following the backlash, Musk described his comment as a “dumb” mistake and attempted to make amends by visiting Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi death camp.

More recently, Musk has faced criticism for hosting a conversation with Alice Weidel, the leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right political party. The AfD has been linked to Nazi-sympathetic rhetoric that has even alienated other far-right movements, such as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France.
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