The Daily Populous Wednesday January 22nd, 2025 morning edition
Authored by salon.com and submitted by wanda999

While speaking to a crowd of MAGA faithful on Monday, Elon Musk made a grunting noise, placed a hand on his heart and extended it outwards in a quick, snapping motion, palm facing down. He then repeated the motion for the people behind him.

"My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," he declared.

Musk's gesture, covered by some news outlets live, immediately elicited comparisons to a salute first used by Italian fascists, then popularized by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party. While the gesture is also known as the "Roman salute," there is no known Roman art or text that depicts or describes it, and the association was likely just a figment of fascist propaganda. The Nazi variation of the salute, still used as a sign of support and identification with Nazi and fascist causes, has been banned in some countries, including Germany.

“Did elon musk just hit the roman salute at his inauguration speech?” Hasan Piker, a popular left-wing commentator, asked on X.

The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that supported police crackdowns against pro-Palestine student protesters, thought not. Writing on X, the organization claimed that Musk had simply “made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” and that it was “not a Nazi salute.” The post added that “all sides should give one another a bit of grace.”

Some of Musk's defenders posited that his rather stiff heart-to-crowd gesture was the "socially awkward" wave of an "autistic" man. But others, including experts on far right politics, believed what they saw was unambiguous. "Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too," Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University, wrote on Bluesky.

Regardless of Musk's intention, his gesture was well-received by neo-Nazis and far-right extremists, who have flourished on X, formerly Twitter, since the tech billionaire took control of the platform and promised to make it a bastion of free speech. Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, posted the clip of Musk on Telegram with a lightning bolt emoji (a reference to the insignia of the SS, a Nazi paramilitary organization) and the caption: “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.”

Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social network Gab, shared the clip on his account with the caption: “Incredible things are happening already lmao."

Musk, who has allied himself with far-right causes in Germany and elsewhere, struck a defiant tone against his critics, sharing a user's post on X that said the "salute hoax" was part of a Democratic "dirty tricks campaign" against him. “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,” Musk added. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

After giving the gesture, Musk continued to speak about "safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending" and America's "manifest destiny" to colonize Mars.

Foreign-Repeat9813 on January 21st, 2025 at 20:06 UTC »

Tellingly, Musk's Nazi salute was clearly received by neo-Nazis and far-right extremists as a Nazi salute. Verified Nazi accounts have flourished on X, since Musk took control of the platform (formerly Twitter).

ThisNameDoesntCount on January 21st, 2025 at 19:58 UTC »

Politics is funny af because a guy can do a Nazi salute but because he’s on your side you have to say no he didn’t lmao

Virbillion on January 21st, 2025 at 19:54 UTC »

german publications had to censor it. that's how much of a nazi salute it was.