Conservatives are criticizing Sen. Cory Booker for an alleged ‘Nazi salute’ gesture at a California Democratic Party event, contrasting it with the media scrutiny Elon Musk faced for a similar move in January. Critics like Collin Rugg and Angela Belcamino argue that Booker should face the same media attention as Musk, questioning the double standards in coverage. While Booker called for ‘real change’ from communities, the conservative audience mocked the gesture, highlighting the broader political tension over media narratives and perceived ideological shifts.
Booker traveled to the Los Angeles area on Saturday, where he addressed the California Democratic Party’s convention, calling on supporters to ‘stand up’ to President Donald Trump and repeating a handful of messages he delivered during his marathon 25-hour speech on the Senate floor in March railing against Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency, and the Trump administration for its alleged attacks on ‘Americans’ safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy.’
He capped off his roughly 15-minute speech with a gesture where he placed his right hand on his chest before raising it to the crowd. Musk delivered a similar gesture in January on Trump’s inauguration day, which yielded dozens of headlines from mainstream media outlets that Musk delivered a ‘Nazi-style salute’ to Trump supporters. Liberals and critics frequently attacked Trump while he was on the campaign trail by calling him a Hitler-esque fascist, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, who compared Trump to the German dictator during a town hall in October.
Conservatives and others pounced on the footage of Booker, asking if media outlets would accuse the New Jersey Democrat of gesturing like a Nazi. ‘Will Corey Booker be plastered all over msm with headlines claiming he’s a ‘Nazi’?’ The Post Millennial’s X account posted, accompanied by footage of the gesture. ‘Here’s a list of all the news networks who have not covered Cory Booker’s salute: – NYTimes – CNN – Washington Post – MSNBC – NPR – USA Today – Reuters – Axios – ABC News Every single one of them wrote stories on Elon Musk’s ‘salute’… …do you get it yet?’ former government scientist Matt van Swol posted to X.
Musk responded to van Swol: ‘Legacy media is one big psy op.’ Other X posts included direct comparison between Musk’s wave in January and Booker’s gesture on Saturday. ‘Cory Booker is a straight up NAZI! WOW,’ conservative X user Gunther Eagleman posted. Booker’s spokesperson Maya Krishna-Rogers told Fox News Digital on Sunday when asked about the gesture, ‘Cory Booker was obviously just waving to the crowd. Anyone who claims his wave is the same as Elon Musk’s gesture is operating in bad faith. The differences between the two are obvious to anyone without an agenda.’