Stefanik excoriates Dem for Elon Musk 'Nazi salute' accusation at UN ambassador hearing
Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy pressed New York Rep. Elise Stefanik on claims Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute at President Donald Trump's inaugural parade when she appeared before Senate lawmakers as part of her confirmation process to serve as ambassador to the U.N.
"What do you think of Elon Musk, perhaps the president's most visible adviser, doing two heil Hitler salutes last night at the president's televised rally?" Murphy asked Stefanik on Tuesday morning as she appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
"No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes," Stefanik said. "I was not at the rally, but I can tell you, I've been at many rallies with Elon Musk, who loves to cheer when President Trump says, ‘We need to send, you know, our U.S. space program to Mars,’ Elon Musk is a visionary. I'm looking forward to his work in DOGE," the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk attended Trump's inaugural parade on Monday, where he spoke to supporters and was accused of giving a Hitler-style salute to the crowds.
Musk has since brushed off the accusations as a tired attack from the left, saying on X that "they need better dirty tricks."
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The New York Republican continued in her response, "American people are smart. They see through it, they support Elon Musk. We are proud to be the country of such successful entrepreneurs. That is one of our greatest strengths as Americans."
Murphy continued pressing Stefanik on the matter, rattling off a list of "White supremacist groups and neo-Nazi groups" who had described and celebrated Musk's gesture as a Hitler salute.
"Evan Kilgore, a right-wing political commentator, wrote on X, ‘Holy crap, did Elon Musk just Heil Hitler at the Trump inauguration rally. This is incredible. We are so back.’ Andrew Torba, who's the founder of the right-wing Christian nationalist social platform Gab, said ‘incredible things are happening,’ … as he amplified the visual, the Proud Boys chapter in Ohio posted the clip, on a Telegram channel with the text ‘Heil Trump,’" Murphy said of the examples.
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"Over and over last night, White supremacist groups and neo-Nazi groups in this country rallied around that visual," Murphy said. "Does it concern you that those elements of the neo-Nazi and White supremacist element in the United States believe that what they saw last night was a neo-Nazi salute?"
Stefanik shot back that she and Trump both have a long record combating antisemitism.
"What concerns me is this is… these are the questions you believe are most important to ask to the U.N. ambassador," she said. "I have a very strong record when it comes to combating antisemitism. We just had a historic election where President Trump earned historic support from American voters because of his strong leadership combating antisemitism, which has been a scourge across the country, skyrocketing since Oct. 7. So I intend to bring moral clarity to this position and continue to speak out as a voice, as a beacon of light condemning antisemitism at the United Nations, which is representative of President Trump's record and President Trump's promises that he made on the campaign trail."
Murphy explained that he asked about Musk's gesture "because I think that your work and the administration's work on antisemitism only comes with real impact and credibility if it holds both right and left accountable."
"I simply don't believe that if a member of the Squad made that same gesture last night, that there wouldn't be commentary from you and others," he said. "So I want to make sure that our work has credibility and credibility comes with calling antisemitism and antisemitism behavior out when it comes from both the right and the left."