Elon Musk's Salute Is a Dicey Inauguration Topic

All the chatter about Elon Musk's speech Monday at Capitol One Arena in DC isn't about what he said but about a gesture he made, twice. To critics, it looked for all the world to be a Nazi salute, reports Politico. Others, though, say people are reading way too much into things—that Musk was earnestly making a gesture of giving his heart to supporters.

• Video: Watch for yourself, via PBS.
• The move: Musk made the gesture—it's also known as the "Fascist salute" and by some as the "Roman salute"—after thanking supporters of Donald Trump. As the New York Times recounts: "The billionaire then grunted and placed his hand to his heart before extending his arm out above his head with his palm facing down. After he turned around, he repeated the motion to those behind him." CNN pointed it out, with anchor Erin Burnett referencing the "odd-looking salute," per the Daily Beast.
• Musk response: Musk briefly addressed the controversy while replying to a user on his X platform, reports the BBC. "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks," he wrote of critics. "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
• Fast reaction: "I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal," tweeted Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler. "This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history.''

• Not so fast: The Anti-Defamation League sought to lower the temperature. Musk "made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute," it says in a statement. "In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath."
• Holocaust group: Masha Pearl, director of the Blue Card group that supports Holocaust survivors, called it a Nazi salute, per the Times. "Elon Musk has been engaged with antisemitic incidents in the past. Because of that, it was an unmistakable symbol of hate, of violence, of genocide."
• Israeli newspaper: Haaretz covered the moment for its readers under the headline, "Elon Musk Appears to Make Fascist Salute at Trump Inauguration Rally" and framed the gesture in the context of Musk's support for far-right parties in Europe, including Germany.
• One view: At USA Today, Rex Huppke isn't cutting Musk much slack. "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and salutes like a cosplaying Nazi … well, you figure it out from there."
• In defense: Conservative commentator Eyal Yakoby posted a photo of Kamala Harris making a similar-looking gesture. "Neither of them are doing the Nazi salute," he wrote. "You can raise your hand without it being a Nazi salute." Separately, Trump confidante Andrea Stoppa said "that gesture, which some mistook for a Nazi salute, is simply Elon, who has autism, expressing his feelings by saying, 'I want to give my heart to you.'" The video shows that after twice making the gesture, Musk clutches his heart and says, "My heart goes out to you."

(More Elon Musk stories.)