‘Simply not the case’: MAGAs disgustingly deny Elon Musk’s salute at Trump’s inauguration

And now it’s–time for denial. Because of course it is.

It’s difficult to see Elon Musk’s salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration as anything other than what it was. Call it Romanesque, whatever, it’s still a blatantly obvious fascist salute. The only people who aren’t seeing it for what it is are those who refuse to admit what it is, such as United Nations Nominee Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).

At her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Stefanik was asked by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), “What do think of Elon Musk, perhaps the president’s most visible adviser, doing two Heil Hitler salutes last night at the president’s televised rally?”

Her response: “No. [He] did not do those salutes.”

She went on to add that, though she was not at the inauguration, she has been to many rallies with the billionaire in the past and said that he liked to make “cheerful gestures.” However, she said, his gesture on Monday was “simply not the case” of a Nazi salute.

She went on to say, “[T]he American people are smart. They see through it. They support Elon Musk. We are proud to be the country of such successful entrepreneurs. That is one of our greatest strengths as Americans.”

Not to be deterred, Murphy then presented Stefanik with several responses from far-right online personalities, which all ranged from mildly gleeful to abhorrently gleeful. Evan Kilgore, who is a self-described political commentator, posted on X (formerly Twitter), “The Jews are already seething.”

The other provided examples can be found in the linked HuffPost article. I don’t wish to spotlight them here when what should be talked about is a United Nations Ambassador blatantly downplaying the reality of the situation. With Trump’s flurry of executive orders spanning from immigration to reproductive rights, this country is rapidly pivoting toward a point of no return, and the alarm bells should be ringing nonstop.

Murphy continued his questioning, asking, “Does it concern you that those elements of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist elements in the United States believe that what they saw last night was a neo-Nazi salute?” Stefanik replied saying she was concerned that Murphy thought it was an appropriate question to ask. Deflection is no surprise here; there really is no other response to Murphy’s question. Stefanik and the rest of the MAGAs that support this know what it is, but coming right out and saying it this early on would be damaging.

Musk apologists continue to run rampant across the internet. The excuses range from autism to an accident. Nothing Musk intended was an accident. If anything, he maybe made it too obvious. This was almost certainly the plan amongst them all along.

Musk has yet to comment on the gesture, and, honestly, I would be shocked if he did, at this point. Besides, what does it matter? Trump has already been sworn in, and the rest of his MAGA crew are following. From now on, only time will tell if the tide is able to be shifted.