Elon Musk caused controversy on Monday during a Donald Trump meeting in Washington by performing a salute twice that some described as “fascist” or « nazi »while others defended “a clumsy gesture”. The owner of X, quick to react on the social network, has not commented for the moment.
After a speech on the stage of the Capital One Arena, the boss of SpaceX and Tesla thanked the crowd for allowing the return of the billionaire to the White House before tapping his left chest with his right hand, extending the arms, palm open, then repeat the gesture while turning towards the rest of the crowd behind him.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz or the British The GuardianElon Musk “seemed” have performed a salute “fascist” or “fascist style”. The magazine Wired noted that many far-right personalities in the United States immediately rejoiced, such as columnist Evan Kilgore, who welcomed a gesture ” amazing “.
-“Well, it didn’t take long.”denounced, on X, the elected Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez. “It seemed like he had been holding it inside for a while and was finally able to let it go.”for her part, declared former Democratic elected official Cori Bush, also on X. “As if he had practiced in front of the mirror to find the exact angle”she quipped.
The historian Claire Aubin, a specialist in Nazism in the United States, had the same interpretation of his gesture: “My professional opinion is that you are all right”she wrote on the social network. Another historian expert on fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat also affirmed, on “it was indeed a Nazi salute, and one that was very aggressive at that”.
