Hitler, Musk, and the Art of the Smear

How the Far Left recycles anything Nazi when it comes to the Trump administration

Almost 40% of young people get their news from TikTok. They may not know much about history but they know that Hitler and Nazis are bad. It is why the far left takes every opportunity to paint the Trump administration and its top supporters as Nazis.

As nonfiction authors of books about the Third Reich, and as cofounders of Antisemitism Watch, a nonprofit that monitors anti-Jewish hate worldwide, we know real Nazi and fascist rhetoric and actions. There are plenty of fanatics who are nostalgic about Hitler. But in the far left arsenal of tools to resist Trump, claims about some Nazi-association are a preferred way of going on the offensive. Gerald wrote last July in the Wall Street Journal that “relentless attacks from left-wing media and many in the Democratic Party, who likened the former president to Hitler and claimed his re-election would end democracy” was language that “can be the spark that helps push an assassin to act.”

It was not long after Donald Trump was sworn in yesterday that the latest Nazi broadsides began. “Trump’s Rhetoric Echoes Hitler” was the afternoon headline in the Harvard Political Review.

“Trump’s rhetoric echoes the racism and dehumanization present in the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler…Trump has deliberately adopted the tactics used by Hitler throughout his rise to power.”

That was quickly subsumed under a social media meltdown after a video went viral of Elon Musk at a post-inauguration rally.

“This was no ordinary victory,” said Musk. “This was a fork in the road of human civilization.”

He struck his chest near his heart with his right hand, and then extended his arm upward at an angle with his palm down, a gesture repeated several times. “Thank you for making it happen! Thank you!”

When we watched the video clip, we thought it nothing more than him reaching out to the large crowd in a moment of intense excitement. “My heart goes out to you! It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured!”

That gesture instantly went viral in posts accusing Musk of giving the infamous Sieg Heil Nazi salute. It seemed no one remembered his moving visit to Auschwitz in 2023 or that he now wears a dog tag that says, “Our hearts are hostage in Gaza.”

PBS NewsHour tweeted “Billionaire Elon Musk gave what appeared to be a fascist salute Monday…” That lit a fire under some senior Democratic elected officials. New York’s Jerry Nadler, for instance, retweeted the PBS post and said, “I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal.”

An NYU historian, Ruth Ben-Ghiat - who for a couple of years has said that “being a dictator is Trump’s brand,” weighed in on X: “Historian of fascism here. That was a Nazi salute - and a very belligerent one too.”

The “Musk gave a Nazi salute” got such traction that the Anti-Defamation League tried to put a halt to it on X, posting, “It seems that Elon Musk 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.”

The left doubled down. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez answered on X: “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity. People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.”

For AOC and the left that was a winning response in terms of social media impact: it got 22 million views and put some of the legacy press on the story.

The UK Guardian ran with “Elon Musk appears to make back-to-back fascist salutes at inauguration rally.” “Elon Musk’s ‘Nazi’ Salute Sparks Fury from Europe’s Left Wing,” was the Politico headline. “Elon Musk at Trump’s Inauguration: What’s the History of the Nazi Salute?” in Aljazeera. “Did He Actually Do That?” asked The Atlantic, while Rolling Stone talked about his “alarming gesture.” The New Republic ran a story with the headline “Did Elon Musk Seriously Just Do a Nazi Salute at Trump’s Inauguration?”

Mainstream German politicians debated Musk’s “controversial gesture.” A popular German satirical magazine ran a cover of Hitler giving a Nazi salute and asked, “Is this Hitler doing the Musk Salute?”

In an era in which many people do not read past the headline or an X post, the damage was done. And that was the goal of AOC and others who look for every opportunity to paint the Trump administration and its supporters as fascists hell bent on ending American democracy.

The onslaught was not slowed by social media posts that showed Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and other progressives with the same stiff-arm gesture.

No one then called it a Nazi Seig Heil salute.

Musk dismissed the accusations on X: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

But that the attacks are tired is not what matters. The purpose of the slurs is to get enough traction for some mud to stick. “Did you see Musk gave a Nazi salute?” was how a colleague started a morning zoom with us on a different matter.

Those who disagree with Trump’s policies have every right to take him and his administration to task. However, the Nazi analogies feed a dangerous and false narrative. Moreover, their cavalier and inauthentic use denigrates the memory of those who died in the Holocaust from history’s real Nazis.

Stop it already. If not, the Democratic party might find itself alienating more voters who are looking for substantive policy differences and not the basest types of ad hominem attacks.