Elon Musk has announced plans to take legal action against Tim Walz following comments made by the failed former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate.
Walz accused Musk of performing a “Nazi salute” during Donald Trump’s inauguration, sparking a firestorm of online reactions.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” Walz claimed Americans spent “three days debating” whether Musk’s hand gesture resembled the infamous salute.
“Of course he did,” Walz declared, doubling down on his accusations.
I think I will.
Tim Walz is a creepy 🤡
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2025
The statement prompted sharp criticism, including a comment from conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who wrote on X, “Creepy Tim Walz says ‘of course Elon did a Nazi salute. I hope Elon sues him for all he’s worth.’”
Musk himself replied to Starbuck’s tweet, stating, “I think I will. Tim Walz is a creepy [clown].”
Musk faced backlash last week after making controversial gestures at a Trump rally.
The tech mogul placed his right hand on his chest, then extended it upward at an angle, a move some critics alleged mimicked a Nazi salute. Musk repeated the gesture toward the audience behind him.
Elon Musk was very ill-advised to do this kind of salute to denote his clearly stated ‘my heart goes out to you’ sentiment… but he obviously didn’t mean it as a Nazi salute and anyone who says he did is being a disingenuous idiot. pic.twitter.com/5fh82psnSC
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 21, 2025
Social media quickly dissected the event, with accusations flying that the hand movement symbolized fascist ideologies and was a clear nod to Nazism.
Musk denied the allegations on X, claiming his critics are running out of ideas, writing, “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired” and advising them to come up with “better dirty tricks.”
President @realDonaldTrump arrives at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/67sZ4CP5U4
— Margo Martin (@margomartin) October 27, 2024
This isn’t the first time Walz stirred controversy with Nazi comparisons. Back in October, he likened Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden to events from 1930s Germany.
Speaking in Henderson, Nevada, Walz stated, “Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden. There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden. And don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there.”
Walz appeared to reference a 1939 Nazi rally hosted by the German American Bund, held at the same New York venue, which drew a crowd of over 20,000 people.
During the MSNBC interview, Walz also discussed the Democratic Party’s challenges after losing the presidential election.
He described the situation as “pure hell,” reflecting on the setbacks over the past few months.
“Republicans always want to talk about cutting government,” he told Maddow. “That’s in theoretically. They never want to be specific because we know that these programs are incredibly popular.”
He continued to vent his frustrations, adding, “I would say Rachel, that it was cruel; they planned it. Yes, it was somewhat buffoonish but I’m not quite certain that we’re reading that right.”
“I think this is a case of that this is a trial balloon to see how much tolerance we had,” he continued.
“It’s like you caught someone and they stole everything out of your house and you caught ‘em and you told ‘em to put it back and when you start lookin’ some of it’s still gone.”
Walz turned his criticism toward Republican governors, stating, “They’re never gonna bring this the legal way because no Republican will vote for this.”
“And the deafening silence of Republican governors, these are my colleagues, some of ‘em are my friends, but shame on you,” he added
Accusing the GOP of aiming to dismantle government programs, Walz declared, “They want to destroy the federal government. This buyout of employees, because now they’ve threatened them.”
“The resistance is strong, you’ve felt it,” Walz said passionately. “Americans, lo and behold, like democracy and feeding their children.”
Walz also criticized Republicans for calling out Democrats on “defunding the police,” saying, “They’re talking about defunding the police, things that they’ve puffed their chests up and say they’re good with, making their case.”
Wrapping up his rant, Walz sympathized with voter fatigue, saying, “To the voters, I’m with this too. Everybody’s fatigued. Trust me, I get it. It was pure hell, and the disappointment and the frustration, and I’m, you know, soul-searching – what could we have done to make the case?”
“Because we knew this was coming. We knew the implication. And they’re throwing so much at us that we’re fatigued,” he concluded.
Watch Walz full interview on MSNBC here: