Neo-Nazis celebrate as Elon Musk gives two Nazi salutes during a speech to tens of thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump on Monday.
“Elections come and go, and some elections are important, some elections are not, but this election really matters,” Musk said during his speech inside Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., hours after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. . “And I just want to thank you for making this happen. Thank you.”
At this point, Musk placed his right hand on his chest before extending it straight out with his palm facing down and his fingers touching, a gesture widely known as the “Roman salute.” It was adopted by the fascist movement a century ago, was most famously used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, and is still associated to this day with the fascist right, especially in Italy.
After Musk made the gesture for the first time, he then turned to the crowd members sitting behind him, and repeated the gesture with his back to the camera.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk added.
Musk then shared a clip of his speech on X but at the point where he gives the first salute, it was… A clip posted by Musk He cuts to a shot of the audience before returning to show him a second salute.
Musk, X, and the Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The response from the neo-Nazi community around the world was immediate and unanimous.
“Really unbelievable things are happening already,” Andrew Torba, founder of Gab, a social media platform notorious for anti-Semites and white supremacists, wrote above a photo of Musk saluting.
“It seems like the whole neo-Nazi movement is eating it up,” says Nick Martin, an investigative journalist who follows extremist groups closely and runs the online magazine. Detective. “He gave two unambiguous Nazi salutes, and they got the message loud and clear.”
“We’re back,” the admin of the Nazi meme channel wrote on Telegram under a clip of Musk giving the salute. Group members responded with lightning bolt emojis, Well-known neo-Nazi reference To the SS.
“I don’t care if this is wrong, I’ll enjoy having tears over it,” said Christopher Ballhouse, the group’s leader. American neo-Nazi group Blood TribeHe wrote on his Telegram channel under an animated image of Greetings from Musk.
Keith Woods, a prominent far-right influencer from Ireland who has repeatedly praised Musk, responded to the actions by writing on
Evan Kilgore, a right-wing political commentator, wrote on the website “We’re back,” Kilgore later wrote.
Kilgore, who He is a Holocaust denierServed as an ambassador for Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk. The conservative activist group hosted an inauguration party Sunday evening, featuring J.D. Vance, who was inaugurated as vice president today, and the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
Musk has embraced far-right ideology and figures around the world, including jailed anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson in the UK, over the past two years. More recently, he has promoted the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany. In an hour-long interview with party leader Alice Weidel earlier this month, Musk agreed with the wild conspiracy theory that Hitler was a communist.