Ocasio-Cortez slams Musk gesture: ‘I’m not with the Nazis’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took to Instagram on Tuesday evening to slam Elon Musk over a gesture he made during a speech on President Trump's Inauguration Day, which she described as a Nazi salute.
“If you’re cool and want to defend the 'Sieg Heils' and the Nazi salutes … whatever you want to do, that’s on you,” she said. “I’m on the opposite side of that. I’m not with the Nazis.”
The New York Democrat said hating Nazis is a “foundational, defining” part of being American.
“Two of probably the most foundation-defining things about American history is that we beat the Confederates and we beat the Nazis,” she said. “I don’t know what side people may be on today, but I am still not rocking with anyone sympathetic to Nazis, and I will do that until I am 6 feet in the ground.”
In a post on his social platform X, Musk responded to the criticism over the gesture, saying Democrats need “better dirty tricks.”
“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk added, with a sleeping emoji.
While addressing a large crowd Monday at Capitol One Arena, Musk thanked attendees for helping to elect Trump.
He grabbed the left side of his chest with his right hand and extended his arm at a raised angle. Musk turned around and made the gesture a second time.
“My heart goes out to you,” he said.
Musk spent millions of dollars to get Trump elected and has been tapped to lead the president's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE).
While some Democrats have hammered Musk over the salute, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has defended Musk, calling the move “awkward” but “not a Nazi salute.”
Ocasio-Cortez on Monday criticized the ADL for its statement on Musk.
“Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X.
“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.”