PRESSURE POINT: Liberals are fighting fascism with protractors
by Noam Sala Budgen | January 30, 2025
“I studied the arm angles … His arm would have been stiffer, and he would have stood differently – and, in any case, really, why would he?” —Andrew Marr.
During the inauguration celebrations, jubilant at the power that was ascending upon him, Elon Musk propelled a stiff right arm in the air, the motion repeated with cautious purpose. Yes, even though Andrew Marr’s protractor may say differently, Elon Musk really did a Sieg Heil in front of the imperial stamp of the United States of America. This is one of the most influential figures on the planet, a titan of wealth built on tens of billions in U.S. government contracts and clean energy subsidies—all funded by taxpayer dollars. A man addicted to empowering right-wingers, spotlighting their violent conspiracies. This summer, he lit the match that set UK hotels housing asylum seekers ablaze. Now he stands as one of Trump’s closest confidants, funnelling billions into the campaign’s lifeblood and earning the mantle of Government Efficiency Tsar. Yet, when he channels Der Führer in broad daylight, they convene in recording studios, in good faith, to dissect the geometry of his salute.
This is the tip of the iceberg. He has always openly been a champion of the far right. He poses next to Javier Milei celebrating union busting policies, dinner dates with Giorgia Meloni fawning over migrant deportations and most recently campaigns for the release of Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson) imprisoned for repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee—his allegiances are clear.
In fact, a few days after the inauguration, Musk appeared on the oppressive screens at an Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) rally, framed by the sea of German flags. This is a neo-Nazi party. A party whose founder has said Germany should “have the right” to be proud of the achievements of the nation’s soldiers in both world wars. A party whose current leader sees the defeat of Nazi Germany as “the defeat of one’s own country by a former occupying power”. This is a party that, in 2023, held a secret meeting in Potsdam, Berlin, with neo-Nazis to plot deportation measures for “non-assimilated” Germans. I repeat, this is a neo-Nazi party. Musk, now with his arm by his side, goes on to tell the leering hall, waiting for his cash injection, that Germany has “too much focus on past guilt”.
It isn’t just flirting with fascism, Musk is giving it a global stage.
And as the Neo-nazis are charged by his actions, and his deep pockets, not a word from the apparent champions of the Jewish people. The fugitive wanted by the ICC for war crimes, replied on X saying Musk is being “falsely smeared”. This is a man who accuses the ICC (International Criminal Court) and the ICJ (International Court of Justice) of being antisemitic for holding Israel accountable for its genocidal actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Yet when Elon throws around a Sieg Heil, he is applauded for being a great friend of Israel. In addition, the valiant ADL (Anti-Defamation League) whose mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people” downplayed Musk’s Nazi salute as an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm”.
In 2023, Musk on X spread that Jewish people promote “hatred against whites” and support immigration by “hordes of minorities”.
It is deeply disturbing that the pro-Palestine movement is relentlessly bombarded with accusations of antisemitism, while an act materially connected to the architects of the Holocaust is absolved by those who tout their protection of Jewish people. It unearths the recent perverse use of the term antisemitism in order to defend and facilitate a genocide. The legitimate criticism of Israel, rooted in its policies of occupation and violence, has been conflated with antisemitism, leading to a muddled discourse where the true threat is obscured. We now lack the clarity to confront real, tangible threats especially posed by the far-right.
As I write this on Holocaust Memorial Day, a day meant to honour the millions of Jewish people, Roma, disabled individuals, LGBTQ+ people and political dissidents who were systematically murdered by a fascist regime, it is nothing short of sickening that the blatant antisemitic actions of one of the world’s most powerful men are met with silence and indifference. Not to mention angle analysis.
Musk may have been seen as an eccentric genius who made cool, futuristic cars, but as a self-proclaimed “not a fan of unions”, he’s always profited from exploitation—laying off swathes of his workforces over his companies and replacing U.S. workers with cheap immigrant labour, all while pushing a violent anti-immigration agenda. After all, we are talking about a white South African billionaire with a family history that reeks of apartheid-era privilege and complicity in the system of racial subjugation, sucking at the government teat, whether through his Tesla subsidies or NASA contracts for SpaceX.
Moments like these empower the most extreme. Musk’s affiliation with the far-right puts the lives of Jewish people and many other minorities in grave danger. As Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, warns, “Extremists see actions like this as a license to escalate their own violent extremism”.
The far-right are energised more than ever, with their chat rooms bursting with extremist plots. Neo-Nazi groups post messages such as “In order for us all to stop the Great Replacement and to save the white working class jobs, every white nationalist must do their part to save white America!”, followed by various links to report migrants to the authorities.
We are at a chilling juncture. Trump and Musk should no longer be treated as memes; they use their platforms to incite violence and empower hatred against minorities and marginalised communities. However, as this threat swells in plain sight, saluting, applauding tweeting, there lies a flaccid alternative and no credible resistance. Instead they emphatically denounce lefty loonies for dangerous rhetoric on climate change and gender, and of course those keffiyeh wearing antisemites. Liberals are fiddling with protractors, whilst the far-right surge.
“Thanks for (sometimes) hearing us, Elon. The White Flame will rise again” —White Lives Matter on X.∎
Words by Noam Sala Budgen. Image courtesy of Free Malaysia Today.