On Jan. 20, the multibillionaire and now head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, gave what appeared to be a Nazi Salute to a crowd at a Trump rally following his inauguration.
Many left-wing politicians and news outlets condemned Musk’s actions and outright labeled him as a Nazi. Some individuals attribute the incident to Musk’s unofficial and self-proclaimed autism diagnosis.
The Anti-Defamation League responded to the act with the statement, “It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.” Others defended Musk’s salute by citing that it was merely a Roman Salute. However, the Roman Salute does not originate from the Roman Empire and instead comes from silent movie era films. In these films, the salute was used by Fascist leaders. The salute was later adapted by Italian fascist leaders such as Mussolini, which effectively makes the Roman salute a fascist salute.
So which was it? Was Musk truly giving his “heart out to the people” in an awkward gesture, or was he purposefully giving a Nazi salute? The answer is that it doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter what Musk’s true intentions were, because both the far left and right treated his actions as a Nazi salute. Although both sides agree that the gesture was in fact a Nazi salute, far-right individuals have celebrated the moment, while leftists have become increasingly cautious of what this could mean for the American government.
While Elon Musk himself may not be a Neo-Nazi, his close proximity to President Trump and the amount of power he holds over the American Government, when combined with such an action, results in white power and neo-Nazi groups being further emboldened. This spawns further anti-semitism and increases chauvinism from within their parties.
A chapter of the white nationalist group known as The Proud Boys posted a clip of Musk’s salute to their private telegram channel and captioned it with “Hail Trump.” The White Lives Matter group commented on the clip with the statement, “Thanks for (sometimes) hearing us, Elon. The White Flame will rise again!”
An individual’s actions are judged based on the effect they have, not the intention that they began with. Elon Musk gave a gesture that resembled a Nazi salute in almost every way possible and the public treated it as one. In a post-truth world where public opinion has become the deciding factor on what can be treated as true or false, Musk’s actions have been treated as a definitive salute, and the true consequences of that, are only beginning.
