Featured Image Credit: CSPAN
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, US News, News
Rhianna Benson
Stephen Bannon - one of Donald Trump's former aides - has come under fire for appearing to gesture a 'Nazi salute' in public earlier this week.
During an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday (19 Feb), the right-wing podcaster made a speech in National Harbor, Maryland praising the President's controversial new policies.
After urging the CPAC to 'fight, fight, fight' - accumulating a mass round of applause from Republican attendees - he nodded, adding, 'Amen'.
It was then that Bannon appeared to be raising his right arm in a gesture has been described as emanating a 'Nazi salute'. Have a look at the moment here:
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The controversy comes just weeks after another of 78-year-old Trump's White House colleagues, tech boss Elon Musk, found himself in hot water for performing a similar gesture.
The SpaceX billionaire gave a speech at the celebratory rally at Capitol One Arena in Washington DC in the days after Trump's inauguration, prior to being made the politician's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-lead.
At one point, he told Trump's supporters: “I just want to say thank you for making it happen.”
Musk then slapped his chest with his right hand and thrust it into the air, his palm facing towards the ground.
Turning around to address those behind him, he repeated the move and added: “My heart goes out to you."
Musk later addressed the controversy caused by his speech, boldly arguing that the comparison to Nazi Germany is 'tired'.
Quoting one of his previous tweets, in which he claimed Democrats would launch a campaign of 'dirty tricks' against him, he said: "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Naturally, Bannon's move has sparked global alarm, with many Americans concerned with an apparent rise in dangerously right-wing behaviours.
"A few more steps and history will repeat itself as one century ago," one wrote on X (formerly Twitter) this week.
As another wrote: "They're all supporting a Nazi movement! Disgusting people hiding behind the Republican Party ideology and Christianity.
"A history forgotten is a history repeated."
A third added: "Steve Bannon did a Nazi salute. They're not hiding it anymore," while another continued: "They know exactly what theyre doing.
"They do these 'hand movements' knowing full well what the intentions are and when the time is right and they have normalized fascist behaviour, theyll be doing this at every rally and meet."
The same user added: "We are living in a real World where fascism is on the rise."
Even some Republican voters have been left concerned with what the rise in alleged Nazi gestures might mean.
"This is what they are. They are the far right party. Our old Republican party is GONE and been taken over," one hit out.
Tyla contacted Stephen Bannon's representatives for comment.