Steve Bannon Did A Nazi Salute. Period

Steve Bannon stood on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and made a Nazi salute at the end of his speech on Thursday.

According to AP, Bannon said Friday that it was simply a “wave.”

From AP:

Bannon, who once served as Trump’s chief strategist and helped lead his 2016 Republican campaign, was onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington on Thursday evening when he extended his right arm in the air, his palm flat, after imploring the crowd to “Fight! Fight! Fight!” — a reference to what Trump shouted after an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, during last year’s campaign.

A video of the salute can be seen below. It is not a “Roman salute.” It is not a “wave.” It is a Nazi salute just like the one Elon Musk did twice on Inauguration Day. 

When I see Steve Bannon doing a Nazi salute to cheers it means only one thing:

420,000 U.S. troops died defending our country from Nazi assholes and 77 million people voted for them to be in power.

MAGA betrayed our country voting for this nightmare.

pic.twitter.com/KwBECLa7Rq

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 21, 2025

 

It is a Nazi salute, plain and simple, and anyone who reports it otherwise is complicit in the fascist coup that is happening in AmeriKKKa as we speak.

You know it’s bad when your fellow fascists work to distance themselves from your actions, and that is just what’s happening on the right-wing side of things. 

French far-right National Rally leader canceled his Friday appearance at CPAC after seeing Bannon make the salute, and even Nick Fuentes — who has made no secret of his antisemitic views — felt the salute was cringeworthy. 

More from AP:

“While I was not present in the room, one of the speakers allowed himself, out of provocation, a gesture referring to Nazi ideology. As a consequence, I made the immediate decision to cancel my speech,” Bardella said in a written statement.

Online, some far-right users suggested Bannon had made the gesture purposely to “trigger” liberals and the media, while others distanced themselves. Nick Fuentes, a far-right influencer and Trump ally who uses his platform to share his antisemitic views, said in a livestream that Bannon’s salute was “getting a little uncomfortable even for me.”

“Even for me,” Fuentes said. When someone who actively peddles hate on their platform says you are making them uncomfortable, you are doing more than too much. 

Meanwhile, Bannon is telling everyone it was just a wave like he does all the time. 

“I do it at the end of all my speeches to thank the crowd,” he said.

Hitler did that “wave” at the end of all his speeches too. 

The funniest thing to come out of all of this is the response from the Anti-Defamation League, and when I say “funniest,” I don’t mean funny as in “haha”; I mean funny as in, are y’all serious?

On Twitter (I still refuse to call it “X,” and you can’t make me), ADL wrote, “Steve Bannon’s long and disturbing history of stoking antisemitism and hate, threatening violence, and empowering extremists is well known and well documented by ADL and others. We are not surprised, but are concerned about the normalization of this behavior.”

Steve Bannon’s long and disturbing history of stoking antisemitism and hate, threatening violence, and empowering extremists is well known and well documented by ADL and others.

We are not surprised, but are concerned about the normalization of this behavior.… pic.twitter.com/EA5qBVqkvL

— ADL (@ADL) February 21, 2025

I find it surprising that ADL was even able to recognize it as a Nazi salute since they seemed to defend Elon Musk when he did the same thing. 

In case you missed it, when Musk made the salute (twice!) on Inauguration Day, ADL (in)famously defended him and wrote the following on Twitter:

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.

It seems that @elonmusk 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.

So let me get this straight; when Elon Musk — who is currently leading the fascist charge in America — does a Nazi salute, it’s “an awkward gesture,” but when Steve Bannon does it, it’s definitely a Nazi salute?

Here’s a clue for everyone involved: it is always a Nazi salute. 

You can’t sugar-coat this. 

Please remember that when Hitler decided to go Nazi in Germany, he studied Jim Crow in America. 

This is a full circle moment as America returns to its openly racist roots, and if you are afraid to call a thing a thing, why are you even here?

We cannot be passive in our language when describing what is happening in this country right now. There is no benefit of the doubt to be given to any of the players involved. 

While they can pull the wool over the eyes of their base, they should not be able to do that with all of us watching this unfold. 

We cannot pretend that what is happening is a “phase” or something that will simply pass. 

Passivity and inaction are only going to lead us further down the road to an authoritarian dictatorship with a man who has already declared himself “King.”

What more do y’all want?

It is important to call these things out in real-time as it happens. We cannot allow them to gloss over it and tell us we are being hypersensitive or blowing things out of proportion.

Things have been out of proportion for as long as America has been a thing, and it’s only going to get worse. 

It’s a Nazi salute, and it’s important that we acknowledge that without reservation. 

SEE ALSO:

Nazis Get Run Out Of Black Cincinnati Neighborhood After Hanging Swastika Banner Over Highway Overpass

Springfield Sues Neo-Nazi Group That Allegedly Attacked Haitians Fueled By Racist Trump Propaganda

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