WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk gestures while speaking during an inauguration event at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

‘HE DID IT TWICE???’: Elon Musk under fire for demonstrating a hate symbol during Day 1 of Trump’s presidency

Despite Democrats’ valiant efforts to defeat him, Donald Trump was elected in November and officially inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025.

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Because of chilly temperatures, many of the celebratory ceremonies and events were moved indoors including the oath of office and presidential parade. During the latter Elon Musk gave an impromptu speech during which he appeared to give a Nazi salute or “Sieg Heil” causing X, the social media platform he owns, to erupt in disbelief.

Some users condemned, his actions while others were not so quick to judge.

Musk’s gestures came after entering the Capitol One Arena stage performing a happy arm dance. “Yeeeesssss!! He bellowed. “This is what victory feels like. This was no ordinary victory, this was a fork in the road of human civilization. This one really matters, thank you,” he stated before pounding his hand on his chest and thrusting it out towards the crowd palm down. He then doubled down by turning around and repeating the gesture.

According to Deadline, CNN’s Erin Burnett called Musk’s choreography an “odd looking salute” while Newsweek Opinion Editor Batya Ungar-Sargon categorized it as “a man with Aspergers exuberantly throwing his heart to the crowd.” Musk’s controversial behavior at Trump’s celebration is part of a bigger shift of his political alignment, which was motivated by both personal and professional factors.

Much like Vice President J.D. Vance, Musk was once a vocal critic of Trump. In 2017 he resigned from the Strategic and Policy Forum as an act of protest after the President withdrew the country from the Paris Climate Agreement. He spoke out against Trump’s Covid-19 response, immigration policies, and “America First” agenda.

Musk’s alignment with Trump was driven by a number of self-promoting motives. He wasn’t pleased when the government closed down his Tesla factories during the pandemic. His ego was bruised when Biden excluded him from the 2021 American Jobs Plan Forum which focused on rebuilding business with an emphasis on clean energy.

Musk’s misguided views on gender also factor into this shift. One of his twelve children, Vivian Jenna Wilson, came out as transgender in 2022. At the same time she cut ties with her father and legally changed her last name. Musk believes he was “tricked” into approving gender-affirming care for Wilson and railed against the “woke mind virus” in an interview with Jordan Peterson. In 2024, Musk moved his companies Space X and Telsa out of California to protest the state’s law allowing teachers to make their classrooms a safe space banning the requirement for educators to out their students as transgender to their parents.

Trump claimed his decision to move the party inside was for the good of his supporters but just like Musk all of their assertions have a level of self-service factored into it. The National Weather Service predicted temperatures to be around 24 degrees with the wind chill making it feel even colder. According to The Hill, in both 1977 and 2013 Barack Obama’s and Jimmy Carters’ inaugurations still took place outside in 28 degree temperatures with significant wild chills. John F. Kennedy braved 22-degree weather and snow.

As the oldest Commander-in-Chief to take office, perhaps Trump has to be more mindful of his health. Additionally, crowds look bigger in smaller quarters and historically size matters to Trump more than any ideological alignment, including White supremacists.


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