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In a move that quickly went viral, journalist Catherine Rampell forced Scott Jennings to put his money where his mouth is and recreate Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration. In case you missed it (oh, I envy you), Musk delivered the salute while speaking at his boss’ post-inauguration rally last week, attracting deserved condemnation in the days since.
While the billionaire denied that it was a Nazi salute — and the Anti-Defamation League bizarrely agreed — the gesture has nonetheless been a source of continued commentary, particularly as Musk’s former friends and acquaintances have weighed in.
Now, the salute has become a topic of conversation on CNN, during a panel composed of Rampell and longtime conservative political strategist Jennings. Coming to Musk’s defence, Jennings said critics of Musk’s gesture — which saw him proudly thump his chest and shoot his right hand to the sky — are suffering from “Elon derangement syndrome,” an extension of the Republican talking point around so-called Trump derangement syndrome.
Further defending the billionaire, Jennings cited Musk’s supposed “long record of supporting the Jewish people,” and advised those who believe he performed a Nazi salute “lawyer up” because “because, [it’s an] absolute[ly] ridiculous thing to say.” Jennings, who has long supported the president and last week praised his dystopian inaugural address, went on to describe the commentary around Musk’s gesture as “salute trutherism,” not only drawing from the talking points of his political affiliations (I thought conspiracies were a MAGA thing?) but giving us a tongue twister that I’d rather not perfect.
Try saying “salute trutherism” out loud three times, only not in front of a mirror, just in case a jumpy Musk magically appears and bangs on about a woke mind virus. In any case, Rampell responded by calling Jennings’ bluff, demanding that — if the gesture is “a normal way to greet people” — he should “do it right now on live TV.” It was a mic drop moment that clearly left Jennings stunned, with a smug smile as Rampell continued her questioning. “Why won’t you?” she asked Jennings, before the moderator intervened.
That Jennings was unwilling to perform a gesture he proclaims is innocent should speak for itself, but if that wasn’t proof enough, a few people have come out of the woodwork to likewise denounce Musk. While they initially defended the moment as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the Anti-Defamation League later condemned the jokes Musk proceeded to share on X about the moment, which included puns about high-profile Nazis.
Meanwhile, for his part, Musk’s former friend Phillip Low wrote on Facebook that while the billionaire is “not a Nazi, per se,” he is nonetheless “a total miserable self-loathing poser.” Ouch! Then there was Julie Gray, the wife of a Holocaust survivor who was present during Musk’s trip to Auchswitz last year, and who said that the suggestion that Musk is “a friend of the Jews is desperately naive.”
The backlash also came from Redditors, with users mobilizing to ban the spread of X links on the rival platform. Between all those critics and now Rampell, Jennings has a wave of people imploring him to consider the implications of Musk’s gesture. So go on then, Scott, give us what you claim to be an innocent wave.