Remember Elon Musk’s gesture at President Donald Trump’s inauguration? You know the one. Where he slapped his chest and then did what looked suspiciously like a Nazi salute, even though everyone on the right is blaming Musk’s autism, or calling it a Roman salute (whatever that is), or showing pictures of Dems with their hands in the air. Well, even the Chancellor of Germany, the country most known for that particular salute, is extremely bothered by it.
German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, spoke to CNN recently about the whole thing, and he can’t quite seem to brush off gesture the way all of Trump’s party seems to be doing. He said that Musk is not only meddling in the affairs of American politics, but also “intervening in favor of right-wing politicians all over Europe.”
This, the Chancellor said, “is really disgusting.” Remember, this is the same country that at one point controlled more than half of Europe through the Nazi party. You know how Musk poured a fortune into Trump’s campaign? Now he’s inserting himself into German elections as well, in favor of that country’s far-right party, known as the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
It’s looking more and more like Musk’s “salute” was more than just some autistic mishap. Musk also recently told Germans that they shouldn’t feel too guilty about the holocaust. He said there’s “too much focus on past guilt,” and “we” need to move past that. “Children should not feel guilty for the sins of their parents – their great grandparents even.” He said that people should be proud to be German, calling it a “very important principle.”
Musk has been very clear in his support for AfD, even going so far as to host party leader Alice Weidel on X and appearing virtually at campaign rallies. The event he appeared at was just a few days away from marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of one of the Nazi’s worst concentration camps: Auschwitz.
Musk said that German culture is in danger of being lost to “multiculturalism that dilutes everything.” He also claimed the future of civilization could be imperiled by this election.
Unsurprisingly, Scholz said that he disagrees “completely” with Musk and his sudden support of right-wing policies in Germany. This, he said, was something completely new and “not good” for the democracy of the European Union. “This is why I’m so angry about Elon Musk intervening for the far right and Elon Musk also not acting adequately to this killing of so many Jews,” Scholz said, adding that it’s a historic responsibility to remember and atone for the past.
In terms of the salute itself, Scholz acknowledges that there’s freedom of speech, and that “everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire.” What he doesn’t accept, he said, is if Musk is supporting extreme right political positions.
Musk and Scholz have butted heads in the past, with Musk calling the Chancellor an “incompetent fool” and saying that he should “resign immediately.” Germany will go to the polls on Feb. 23.
Published: Jan 29, 2025 5:16 PM UTC