Elon Musk has spoken out after being accused of giving a ‘Nazi salute’ during Donald Trump’s inauguration.

On Monday (January 20), Donald Trump was officially sworn into the White House as the 47th President of the United States and for his second term since 2021.

The President made a raft of promises during his inauguration speech as he vowed the ‘golden age of America begins’ with his term.

However, during his inauguration celebration, the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, Musk, appeared to make a ‘Nazi salute’ in the Capitol One Arena, Washington, ahead of the Inauguration Day parade.

Musk made the awkward gesture inside the Capitol One Arena during the inauguration (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

The 53-year-old appeared to be thrilled about the prospect of sending a man to Mars and planting an American flag, during which the Twitter owner thumped his chest and shot his right arm out towards the sky.

The billionaire tech mogul commented: “Thank you for making it happen. Thank you, my heart goes out to you,” before turning back to the audience and repeating the bizarre gesture towards the American flag.

The move sparked controversy online with many describing the gesture as akin to a fascist salute or ‘odd-looking’, such as CNN anchors, Erin Burnett and Kasie Hunt, reports The Independent.

Hunt noted the move was ‘evocative of things that we have seen through history’ and ‘not something you typically see at American rallies’.

Others on Twitter accused Musk of making a ‘Sieg Heil’ as ‘clear as day’, while others said the move was indefensible and couldn’t have been a mistake or accident seen as as he ‘did it twice’.

However, the Anti-Defamation League, the antisemitism watchdog, has since defended Musk, writing on Twitter: “It seems that [Musk] make an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people on on edge.”

The statement added: “This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.

“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.”

US Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez snapped back to the New York-based group: “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.”

What has Elon Musk said about the gesture?

Now, Musk himself appears to have spoken out amid the backlash, writing in response that Ocasio-Cortex has ‘just 100 percent lost her marbles’.

Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term yesterday (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

Another user jumped to his defense, writing: “Can we please retire the calling people a Nazi thing? It didn’t work during the election, it’s not working now, it’s tired, boring, and old material, you’ve burned out its effect, people don’t feel shocked by it anymore, the wolf has been cried too many times.”

Musk responded with a ‘yeah exactly’ and a yawn emoji.

“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,” he wrote in a follow-up. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

Musk was also the subject of social media chatter earlier in the day when Trump commented on America’s goal to send a person to Mars, during which Musk gave an enthusiastic thumbs up next to a less-than-impressed Barron Trump.

The Bishop of Washington has issued a response to Donald Trump’s five-word comment after she asked him to ‘have mercy’ on LGBTQ+ people and migrants.

President Trump certainly hasn’t wasted any time getting his feet under the table since returning to The White House on Monday (January 20).

Within just his first 24 hours in the Oval Office, Trump signed off a number of executive orders, including a policy stating there are ‘only two genders’ alongside many orders blocking migrants from being able to enter the US.

Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde asked the president to show ‘mercy’ to LGBTQ+ people and migrants during a service at the Washington National Cathedral following Trump’s inauguration.

Making ‘one final plea’ with the president, Right Rev. Budde said: “Mr President, millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God.

“I the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.

Donald Trump has wasted no time signing off on multiple executive orders (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labour in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”

The bishop concluded her emotional speech by asking Trump once more to ‘have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away’ and for the president to ‘help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here’.

Well, Trump quickly responded to the personal address, dubbing it ‘not too exciting’ and that he ‘didn’t think it was a good service,’ before concluding: “They could do much better.”

Right Rev. Bubble has since responded to the comments made by President Trump in an interview with CNN.

She said: “[I was] reminding us all that the people that are frightened in our country, the two groups that I mentioned, are our fellow human beings, and that they have been portrayed all throughout the political campaign in the harshest of lights.

Right Rev. Budde issued a ‘plea’ to the president (CBS News)

“I wanted to counter, as gently as I could, with a reminder of their humanity and their place in our wider community.”

The bishop continued: “I was speaking to the president because I felt that he has this moment now where he feels charged and empowered to do what he feels called to do, and I wanted to say there is room for mercy. There is room for a broader compassion.

“We don’t need to portray with a broad cloth in the harshest of terms some of the most vulnerable people in our society, who are in fact our neighbors and our friends.”

A body language expert has shared her thoughts on how Donald Trump and JD Vance really felt when bishop Mariann Budde asked them to ‘have mercy’ on members of the LGBTQ+ community as he regains power of the country.

The Right Rev Mariann Budde made her comments at a church service held Tuesday January 21, the day after Trump was sworn in on January 20, just a day after he signed an order officially declaring there are only two sexes.

The church service is a traditional part of inauguration day in the United States, and Trump was joined by his vice president, Vance, as Budde gave her sermon at St. John’s Church in Washington, DC.

Budde aimed her comments towards the new leaders of the United States as she said: “Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday you have felt the providential hand of a loving God.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”

Trump and Vance seemed to give little away as they listened to Budde, but body language expert Judi James has shared her insights after watching the scene and revealed the new president did in fact ‘leak out’ some feelings.

Trump attended the church service before his inauguration (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking to The Mirror, she said: “Trump’s first roasting came early and from the unexpected source of a pulpit. As the bishop begged for mercy for immigrants, transgender and gay children etc there was a bristling among Trump’s group as a whole.

“Trump managed something close to a poker face but he managed to leak out feelings of impatience and brewing irritation via some of his subtler non-verbal signals.”

According to James, Trump begins by ‘implying he is going to keep his thoughts to himself via a cut-off gesture as he glances downward’.

She continued: “When the bishop talks about ‘people who pick crops and labour in poultry farms’ he taps his order of service in a metronomic ritual of impatience. His mouth falls slightly open and then his jaw slews to the right and he turns his torso to look to the side in the most emphatic reaction before looking down at his program again.”

Trump and Vance kept their faces neutral at the service (C-Span)

When it comes to Vance, James claimed the vice president was ‘more open’ in his response to Budde.

She said: “When the children are mentioned, he glances at his wife in a more obvious gesture of rejection and his eyes come back to the front with a partial, wry smile. He turns to his wife twice then raises his brows in an expression of mock surprise before studying his program. At one point he tries to catch Trump’s eye in a tie-sign signal that suggests a desire to show unity and support.”

Budde has received a lot of praise for her decision to raise her concerns with Trump and Vance directly, with viewers online celebrating her ‘courage’.

US President Donald Trump agreed it’s ‘never acceptable to assault a police officer’ before justifying the release of a January 6 convict who assaulted an officer with a taser.

On Monday (January 20), Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

Within 24 hours, he issued a pardon for around 1,500 criminals convicted for their involvement in the Capitol Riots which saw violent attacks on police protecting the Capitol building in Washington – with the events of January 6 seeing over 140 police officers injured and at least seven people dead.

Daniel Joseph ‘DJ’ Rodriguez attacked officer Michael Fanone with a stun gun to his neck, with Rodriguez pleading guilty to felony conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, tampering with documents or proceedings and inflicting bodily injury on officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon, according to NBC News.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

During a press briefing at the White House, a reporter asked Trump: “You would agree it’s never acceptable to assault a police officer?”

In a clip of the press conference shared online by Forbes, the president responds: “Sure.”

Trump’s initial response? “I don’t know” (KENNY HOLSTON/THE NEW YORK TIMES/AFP via Getty Images)

The journalist continues: “So then if I can, among those you pardon, DJ Rodriguez he drove a stun gun into the neck of a DC police officer who was abducted by the mob that day.

“He later confessed on video to the FBI and pleaded guilty for his crimes – why does he deserve a pardon?”

Trump’s first response saw him state: “Well, I don’t know.”

He then continued: “Is it a pardon? Because we’re looking at commutes and we’re looking at pardons. Okay well, we’ll take a look at everything but I can say this, murderers today are not even charged, you have murderers that aren’t charged all over.”

Oh, and Trump was only just getting started.

Mentioning Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Trump reflected that ‘people murder people and they don’t get charged’ arguing the people he’s pardoning ‘have already served yers in prison and uh, they’ve served them viciously, it’s a disgusting prison, it’s been horrible, it’s inhumane, it’s been a terrible thing’.

He continued: “I also say this, you go to Portland where they wrapped police officers, shot police officers, nothing happened to anybody. You go to Seattle where they took over a big chunk of the city and people died, Portland a lot of people died […] and you also go take a look at Minneapolis because I was there and I watched it and if I didn’t bring in the National Guard that city wouldn’t even exist today, people were killed and nobody went to jail.”

Trump resolved those he’s pardoning have ‘already served a long period of time’ and it was his ‘decision’ to set them free, instead directing reporters to look at former US President Joe Biden instead.

He said: “Joe Biden gave a pardon yesterday to a lot of criminals – these are criminals he gave a pardon to and you should be asking that question: Why did he give a pardon to all of these people that committed crimes? Why did he give a pardon to the J6 unselect committee when they burned and destroyed all documents that showed that they did what was wrong, not me? Why did they give a pardon to all of his relatives – his brother who made millions of dollars.

“To all these different people he gave pardons that’s the question you should be answering.”

And Trump isn’t only pardoning the individual named by the reporter but around 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the January 6 Capitol attack.

Trump wasted no time signing off a few executive orders upon his return to The White House (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Within the first 24 hours of being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, Trump wasted no time signing off on multiple executive orders including one under a section titled ‘Ending the Weaponization of the federal government’.

The White House’s page states under prior administration, the Department of Justice ‘ruthlessly prosecuted more than 1,500 individuals associated with January 6’.

Trump accused the past administration of ‘inflicting political pain’ rather than ‘pursuing actual justice or legitimate government objectives’ against Americans who ‘spoke out against previous administration’s actions and other Americans who were simply exercising constitutionally protected rights’.

The order links to a presidential action pardoning multiple individuals ‘convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, to time served as of January 20, 2025’ alongside granting ‘a full, complete or unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events’ on the same day too.

The White House’s website states: “This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”