Did Elon Musk perform a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration?

The nighttime was expected to beryllium Donald Trump’s – but successful the extremity it was Elon Musk who stole the amusement astatine the inauguration aft appearing to springiness 2 back-to-back Nazi salutes on-stage.

Addressing Trump supporters conscionable hours aft the Republican campaigner was sworn successful arsenic the 47th US president past night, Musk hailed the electoral result arsenic ‘no mean victory’.

‘I conscionable privation to accidental convey you for making it happen,’ said Musk, the proprietor of SpaceX, X and Tesla and the richest idiosyncratic connected world astatine the Capital One Arena successful Washington.

‘This was a fork successful the roadworthy of quality civilization. This 1 truly mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you!’

Musk past signed disconnected his code by slapping his manus to his bosom earlier shooting retired his close limb astatine an upwards angle, with his fingers unneurotic and his thenar facing down.

The tech billionaire, who has been tasked with moving Trump’s newly-created ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, past turned astir and performed the aforesaid motion for a 2nd clip earlier exiting the stage.

Did Elon Musk execute a Nazi salute?

Musk’s actions instantly drew scrutiny online, with galore accusing the SpaceX proprietor of performing the Sieg Heil salute associated with Adolf Hitler.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) defines a Nazi salute arsenic ‘raising an outstretched close limb with the thenar down’.

They downplayed the incident, and said Musk’s motion was an ‘awkward motion successful a infinitesimal of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute’.

‘In this moment, each sides should springiness 1 different a spot of grace, possibly adjacent the payment of the doubt, and instrumentality a breath,’ the ADL said successful a station connected X.

‘This is simply a caller beginning. Let’s anticipation for healing and enactment toward unity successful the months and years ahead.’

But portion the ADL were speedy to downplay the value of the salute, different experts successful the tract were speedy to disagree.

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the archetypal to blast the ADL for appearing to springiness Musk a pass, writing: ‘Just to beryllium clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for accent and clarity.

‘People tin officially halt listening to you arsenic immoderate benignant of reputable root of accusation now. You enactment for them. Thank you for making that crystal wide to all.’

Meanwhile, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a past prof astatine New York University said: ‘Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a precise belligerent 1 too.’

‘Yes I saw it. And yes it is,’ said Professor Claire Aubin, a historiographer of Naziism successful America, successful a station connected Bluesky.

British columnist Owen Jones besides tweeted ‘This honestly could not look much similar a Nazi salute’ successful a station connected X.

Meanwhile, Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported that Musk concluded his remarks with a ‘“Roman salute,” a fascist salute astir commonly associated with Nazi Germany’.

Far-right extremists delighted by Musk’s salute

On the different broadside of the governmental spectrum, neo-nazi’s and different far-right extremists were highly pleased by Musk’s salute, which they assertion demonstrated his ongoing enactment to their cause.

White Nationalist radical White Lives Matter celebrated the motion connected their Telegram group, posting a representation of it alongside a banner the radical had displayed astatine a motorway overpass which read: ‘Elon Musk Stop White Genocide.’

‘Thanks for (sometimes) proceeding us, Elon. The White Flame volition emergence again,’ they posted successful a caption accompanying the post.

The far-right Proud Boys radical besides posted pictures of their incidental connected their societal accounts, on with the caption ‘Hail Trump!’

Australian neo-nazi Thomas Sewell, whose online avatar shows him throwing a Sieg Heil of his own, posted the video to his Telegram transmission and called it a ‘Donald Trump White Power moment.’

Meanwhile Andrew Torba, laminitis of the far-right societal media level Gab, besides shared the clip connected his level and said ‘Incredible things are happening already lmao.’

What has Elon Musk said?

Elon Musk was speedy to region himself from the accusations pursuing the incident, taking to X to respond to the criticism. ‘Frankly, they request amended soiled tricks. The “everyone is Hitler” onslaught is truthful tired,’ helium tweeted, portion reposting a connection from 2022 successful which helium declared that helium was nary longer a Democrat and was preparing for a ‘dirty tricks campaign’ successful response.

But intentional oregon not, the motion is accordant with Musk’s existent politics, which person shifted sharply to the close pursuing his allegiance to Trump connected the run way past year.

After purchasing Twitter, which helium renamed X, Musk welcomed thousands of achromatic nationalists backmost to the level who had antecedently been banned for hatred speech.

His ain idiosyncratic X relationship is besides progressively indistinguishable from those of the extremists helium has chosen to level successful the sanction of escaped speech, regularly sharing memes and conspiracy theories associated with the alt-right.

Earlier this period helium concisely changed his username to ‘Kekius Maximus’ and changed his illustration representation to an representation of Pepe the Frog, a meme which was adopted arsenic a figurehead by the alt-right during Trump’s archetypal run successful 2016 and was antecedently labelled arsenic a hatred awesome by the ADL.

In precocious 2023, Musk besides embarked connected a alleged ‘apology tour’ to Israel aft sharing anti-semetic posts accompanied by the operation ‘the existent truth’, and has referred to anti-racism watchdog the South Poverty Law Center arsenic a ‘criminal organisation’.

Musk has besides lent his enactment to Germany’s far-right AfD enactment successful caller months, personally interviewing their person Alice Weidel connected X, and has shared posts successful enactment of British far-right extremist Tommy Robinson.

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