Elon Musk responds to claims he gave ‘Nazi salute’ at Trump inauguration event

Elon Musk has hit out at critics after he was accused of making a controversial salute during an event celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The tech billionaire and “first buddy”, who became a major Trump donor during the election campaign and will head up the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, made the gesture during a speech in front of a crowd at the Capitol One Arena, in Washington DC, on Monday (20 January).

Earlier that day, Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president. In his inauguration address, he took aim at LGBTQ+ Americans, saying he would sign executive orders outlining official policy that there are only two genders – male and female – as well as ending “trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life”.

Telling voters “thank you for making it happen”, in reference to Trump’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, Musk placed one hand on his chest before thrusting the other towards the crowd, his fingers together and palm turned down. He then turned and performed the same salute to the American flag.

“My heart goes out to you,” Musk continued. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilisation is assured. Thanks to you we’re gonna have safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending. Basic stuff. And we’re gonna take DOGE to Mars.”

The gesture has been branded by some as very similar to that made during the Nazi era in Germany in the 1930s and ’40s.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one the world’s leading anti-hate organisations, describes a Nazi or Hitler salute as “raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down… often accompanied by shouting “Heil Hitler” or “Sieg heil.”

An ADL spokesperson said: “Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have continued to use the salute, making it the most common white supremacist hand sign in the world.”

CNN news anchor Erin Burnett described the gesture as an “odd-looking salute” while UK journalist Owen Jones wrote on X/Twitter: “This could not look more like a Nazi salute.”

Sharing a clip of the gesture, Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett alleged: “Our new co-president Elon Musk gives a Nazi salute on day one of Trump presidency.”

Fellow journalist Mike Stuchbery claimed: “I studied the Nazis at university, taught the history of Nazi Germany on two continents and wrote for major newspapers about Nazi Germany. I am internet-famous for fact-checking on the history, ideology and policy of Nazi Germany. That was a Nazi salute.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, Haaretz, described the arm movement as “a Roman salute, a fascist salute most commonly associated with Nazi Germany”.

In response on his social media platform, X/ Twitter, Musk reshared a post from 2022 where he proclaimed that he would no longer vote Democrat and was waiting for the party’s “dirty tricks”.

Alongside the post, he wrote: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is so tired.”

In another post, Musk reshared one X user asking: “Can we retire the calling people a Nazi thing?” to which the tech billionaire responded: “Yeah exactly”, with a yawning emoji.

In a follow-up statement, the ADL said: “This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed and social media only adds to the anxiety.

“It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but, again, we appreciate that people are on edge. In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath.

“This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing, and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”

That led some people to claim sarcastically that Musk’s “press team” wrote the statement. And Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.

“People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear.”