Elon Musk has been under fire for making a hand gesture that greatly resembles a fascist salute twice in a celebratory Trump rally. The tech billionaire has taken these allegations lightly and resorted to mocking his critics.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk thanked the crowd. He put his hand on his chest, then infamously put his hand out aggressively. He didn’t do this just once, but two times. There are people who’ve been defending Musk against allegations that he did a Nazi salute. There are also those who are still debating Musk’s intentions with the gesture given the context of his speech.
Instead of clarifying that he had no intention of sending such a vile message in honor of Nazis, Musk joked about the criticism instead. He even played with words and wrote on X, “Bet you did not see that coming.”
A reply to Musk wrote, “Humor is the fascist way to defeat these people!” Musk egged the joke on, writing back, “They can’t stand being mocked.” Simply put, he doesn’t care about providing clarity on the matter and relishes in the confusion and anger of people against him. Disturbingly, he decided to troll about it instead.
A nod from white supremacists
To Musk, this is all a laughing matter—but white supremacists are celebrating his gesture. Nick Fuentes, who is well documented for his antisemitism and hate speech, thought that Musk’s gesture was a full salute. “That was a straight-up Sieg Heil, Hitler-loving energy,” Fuentes energetically said on his podcast.
Other neo-Nazi accounts were also celebrating Elon Musk’s gesture. Meanwhile, several Germans have recognized Musk’s salute and rightfully condemned the act. While the situation may seem cloudy, Musk has the choice to refute the claim. Instead, he chose to tweet snarkily vague replies to mock the left as world leaders from the European Union and Germans condemn him for throwing out such blatant signs.
Published: Jan 24, 2025 03:59 am