Nick Fuentes Praises Elon Musk’s ‘Straight Up’ Nazi Salute: It Wasn’t Even ‘Subtle’
Avowed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes added his voice to the ongoing debate over whether or not Elon Musk made a Nazi salute during a Monday night speech after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The far right leader and commentator, who once dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, gleefully praised Musk’s gesture and described it as a “straight up like ‘Sieg Heil.’”
In a clip shared online by RightWingWatch, Fuentes said, “And then the like straight up like, that was a serious Roman. It wasn’t even like, like a subtle– like a wave. Like one of these like a Laura Ingraham. Remember that one.”
He then raised his arm in demonstration and added, “Laura Ingraham did that. That was a straight up like ‘Sieg Heil,’ like loving Hitler energy. That was that was like a straight up with intensity Roman salute.”
The meaning of Musk’s gesture, which he did twice, has been hotly debated in recent days. Musk himself has used the coverage of the incident to further attack the media as biased. “The legacy media is pure propaganda. You are the media now,” Musk wrote on X while sharing a “Libs of TikTok” post showing Democrats raising their hands in a similar pose.
Critics of Musk have noted that his gesture was far more pronounced and have put it side by side with actual Nazis making the full, animated gesture.
The Anti-Defamation League released a statement arguing that Musk did not make a Nazi salute. The group said, “This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.” The anti-Semitism monitor added:
It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge.
In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.
Fuentes’s praise for Musk comes as no surprise, but does highlight how the Tesla CEO has energized the far right with his recent endorsement of far-right parties in Europe and his evolution in U.S. politics.
Fuentes, who has denied the Holocaust and called for non-Christians to be executed, leads the so-called “Groyper Army” – a loose network of alt-right figures who are vocal supporters of white nationalist ideals. The group often trolls mainstream conservative events to try and move conservativism more toward the far-right. In the past, Fuentes hosted a conference meant to be counter-programming to CPAC, which included speeches by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ).
Watch the clip above.
