During the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this past weekend, tech billionaire Elon Musk gleefully waved a chainsaw on stage, touting his work as head of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which has purged thousands of federal employees since President Donald Trump took office.
The conference, held in Washington, D.C., also featured what appeared to be a Nazi salute from right-wing media provocateur Steve Bannon — the second time in a matter of weeks that a Trump loyalist has been accused of performing a Nazi salute on a public stage.
Musk, who wore sunglasses indoors for the entirety of his appearance, spent much of his time on stage boasting about DOGE’s work so far, claiming that the legally dubious department has been “fighting the Matrix.” In reality, DOGE has been firing and furloughing federal employees with reckless abandon — even going so far as to terminate workers tasked with keeping track of nuclear weapons, who the Trump administration has since attempted to rehire. DOGE has also frozen federal grants and spending for programs that millions of Americans rely on.
The DOGE team is primarily composed of men under the age of 25, many of whom have recently come under fire for their racist, misogynistic and white nationalist online footprints. Musk has expressed similar sentiments, repeatedly endorsing Alternative for Germany (AfD), a neo-Nazi political party whose leaders have promoted vehemently anti-immigration views, downplayed and denied the Holocaust, and suggested that educating Germans about the horrors of Nazism is a “pesky” ordeal.
Musk’s interview at CPAC this weekend was his first major public appearance since he performed what appeared to be a Nazi salute during an event on Trump’s inauguration day.
Throughout Musk’s rambling appearance — during which he asserted that his mind “is a storm” and “I am become meme” — the billionaire appeared to have a “hard time speaking coherently,” one journalist noted.
Before Musk exited the stage, he was gifted a chainsaw from far right Argentine President Javier Milei — a reference to Milei’s “chainsaw plan” to slash public spending and implement a series of drastic austerity measures. Musk waved the chainsaw wildly over his head, vowing to continue gutting the U.S. government.
Meanwhile, Bannon’s speech made headlines not for its content, but for featuring what appeared to be a Nazi salute. After imploring a cheering crowd to “fight, fight, fight!” Bannon raised his right arm into the air at a 45 degree angle — a gesture that many experts have condemned as an attempt to pay homage to the brutal Nazi regime that systematically murdered millions in the 1940s.
Bannon later claimed that he makes the gesture at the “end of all my speeches to thank the crowd.” But even a far right French politician who was set to appear with Bannon recognized the gesture as a Nazi salute, canceling his appearance as a result.
“Yesterday, while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers out of provocation allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology,” said National Rally leader Jordan Bardella. “I therefore took the immediate decision to cancel my speech that had been scheduled this afternoon.”
The conference was also headlined by Trump, who spent his 75-minute speech bragging about his administration’s actions over the past month, including his executive orders rescinding transgender rights; his moves to empower federal agencies to embark on a mass deportation campaign; and DOGE’s purge of thousands of government employees.
“We have escorted the radical left bureaucrats out of the building and have locked the doors behind them,” Trump said of the cuts. “We’ve gotten rid of thousands.”
Trump also used his speech to denounce media he disagrees with as “a threat to democracy.”
Trump’s attacks on the press have been criticized by First Amendment advocates, including Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron, who has warned that the president’s actions — including his apparent attempt to weaponize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to target left-leaning news organizations — are indicative of a “free-speech emergency.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today during our fundraiser. We have until midnight tonight to add 132 new monthly donors. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.