Remember when Elon Musk was accused of making a “Nazi salute” on stage back in January?
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, after spending hundreds of millions to support Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, got a bit overexcited during Trump’s inauguration and made a peculiar gesture.
Musk placed his right hand on his chest, then forcefully thrust it out to his side, repeating the motion toward the audience behind him. He paired it with the phrase, “my heart goes out to you,” suggesting he was sending his heart to the crowd—though it came across awkwardly.
Despite his intent, the gesture resembled a notorious Nazi salute, performed with unusual aggression, which led critics to interpret it as either an intentional salute, a provocative troll, or an accidental resemblance.
Musk didn’t clarify his meaning until days later, initially dismissing the accusations as tired political attacks and complaining about media coverage.
Since then, the incident has lingered in political discourse, especially on America’s far-left, who use it as evidence of Musk’s alleged fascism. Musk’s public support for Germany’s far-right AfD party ahead of recent elections has also drawn more substantive criticism.
On the right, conservatives have scoured Democratic politicians’ gestures since January, searching for anything resembling Musk’s move as a way to accuse liberals of hypocrisy.
This brings us to Cory Booker, Democratic Senator from New Jersey and former presidential hopeful. Over the weekend, at a California party convention, Booker made a gesture strikingly similar to Musk’s: placing his right hand on his chest before extending his arm in a wave.
Side-by-side photos and videos show the similarities clearly.
Right-wing figures quickly accused the media of double standards, highlighting coverage of Musk’s gesture while ignoring Booker’s.
Chaya Raichik, who runs the Libs of TikTok account, tweeted at MSNBC asking why they covered Musk’s gesture but not Booker’s.
Other influencers and activists echoed this, sarcastically calling Booker’s gesture a “heartfelt, patriotic salute” compared to Musk’s supposed “resurrection of the Third Reich.”
Musk himself shared Booker’s clip with a raised eyebrow emoji, calling the irony “hilarious.”
Booker’s spokesperson, Maya Krishna-Rogers, defended him, saying he was clearly just waving and that comparisons to Musk’s gesture were made in bad faith.
