Elon Musk’s Salute Sparks Criticism From Foreign Leaders And Democrats

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/01/21/elon-musks-salute-sparks-criticism-from-foreign-leaders-and-democrats/

During a speech at a Trump inaugural event Monday, Musk pounded his fist to his chest and extended his right arm into the air twice before saying, “My heart goes out to you.”

German chancellor Olaf Scholz—who last week slammed Musk’s support for European far-right parties—said at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday Musk has the right to free speech, but “what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme right positions,” after a reporter asked Scholz about Musk’s gesture, though he did not directly address his gesture or clarify whether he felt it was a Nazi salute.

Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s minister of labor and social economy, announced she would quit X after “the entire world witnessed Elon Musk mimicking a Nazi salute during Donald Trump’s inauguration,” while German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in a tweet Musk’s gesture “must worry every democrat.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University professor who specializes in fascism, called Musk’s gesture “a Nazi salute - and a very belligerent one too.”