Trump’s U.N. nominee, Elise Stefanik, bent over backward in her confirmation hearing Tuesday to avoid admitting that Elon Musk did indeed perform a Nazi salute.
“What do you think of Elon Musk, perhaps the president’s most visible adviser, doing two ‘Heil Hitler” salutes last night at the president’s televised rally?” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy asked Stefanik.
“No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” Stefanik answered disdainfully. “I was not at the rally, but I can tell you I’ve been at many rallies with Elon Musk, who loves to cheer when president Trump says ‘We need to send our U.S. space program to Mars.’”
“Elon Musk is a visionary,” Stefanik continued. “That is simply not the case. The American people are smart, they see through it, they support Elon Musk.”
But when Murphy pivoted to reading positive reactions to Musk’s salute from white supremacists and others on the right, Stefanik seemed to fumble.
“Lemme share with you what a few Americans have said about it,” Murphy began. “Evan Kilgore, a right wing-political commentator, wrote on X, ‘Holy crap! Did Elon Musk just Heil Hitler at the Trump inauguration rally? This is incredible, we are so back.’ Andrew Torba, who’s the founder of the right-wing Christian nationalist social platform Gab said, ‘Incredible things are happening,’ as he amplified the visual. The Proud Boys chapter in Ohio posted the clip on a Telegram channel with the text ‘Heil Trump.’ The chapter of the white nationalist group White Lives Matter posted on Telegram ‘Thanks for hearing us Elon, the white flame will rise again.’ I could keep going. Over and over last night, white supremacist groups and neo-Nazi groups in this country rallied around that visual,” Murphy said.
“Does it concern you that those elements of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist element in the United States believe that what they say last night was a Neo-Nazi Salute?”
“What concerns me is these are the questions you believe are most important to ask,” Stefanik responded.
Anyone with eyes to see and an awareness of world history can deduce that Musk’s gesture looked much closer to a Nazi salute than it did a nervous tic.
Sen. Chris Murphy: "What do you think of Elon Musk ... doing two heil Hitler salutes last night at the president's televised rally?"
— The Recount (@therecount) January 21, 2025
UN ambassador pick Elise Stefanik: "No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes. ... I've been at many rallies with Elon Musk, who loves to cheer." pic.twitter.com/iDw07OxE9a