The Reich stuff
Did Steve Bannon give a Nazi salute at CPAC? That’s the question that has been trending across social media. I happen to know the answer. The answer is, “Yes.” Nobody gives a Nazi salute by accident, certainly not Bannon. Elon Musk and Steve Bannon both knew exactly what it meant when they did it.
Giving the Nazi salute thrills Bannon and Musk when they see it in old newsreels or on National Socialism propaganda films created by Joseph Goebbels or Leni Riefenstahl. They love it. They want to revive it. That’s why they do it. One day, in the not too distant future, they hope it becomes an everyday part of Americana, a common social amenity, like shaking hands or telling people to “have a nice day.” A Nazi salute. Followed by “Hail Trump.”
Bannon and Musk despise each other. So did Goebbels and Himmler. But as with Goebbels and Himmler, they both love the Nazi salute. It’s a terrifying symbol of the power of hate and nationalism. It’s a hand directly in your face. It’s violence you can get away with. It’s for little men with inadequate egos.
At CPAC, Steve Bannon said leaders like Trump “come along twice in history.” Take a wild guess who the other one Bannon was referring to was. Bannon gave us a hint when he gave the Nazi salute. It was no accident. It was planned. Bannon and Musk want America to be just like Germany in the 1930s. To them, Hitler and Germany represented exactly their idea of the glory of nationalism, “the Reich stuff,” if you will.
Joshua Reed Eakle, president of the Project Liberal organization, declared in a response to a clip of Bannon giving the Nazi salute. “Nazism,” he said, “has officially taken over the GOP.” That train left the station a long time ago. They are now just haggling over the symbology. The fact that Bannon was applauded after he gave that disgusting display of racist pornography suggests that the jury is back. Nazism is just fine with the MAGA GOP. Bannon hopes that one day Washington will be draped in swastikas.
“This is Trump’s America,” noted a post on X by grassroots political group Really American. Far-right white nationalist Nick Fuentes characterized both Musk’s and Bannon’s gestures as a “Roman salute.” Nevertheless, he called it “sick” on his podcast Thursday, adding, “It’s getting a little uncomfortable even for a guy like me!” Hang in there, Nick, you’ll get used to it before long.
So far no Republican has stepped forward and condemned Bannon for giving a Nazi salute. Don’t hold your breath. Instead, watch it become more and more common. Before long it will be sane-washed. It will be called something else, like Fuente’s Roman salute. Who knows?
This is how indoctrination of the masses works. It sneaks in a little at a time until nobody on the right notices anymore. Of course, we will notice. But the people in power won’t care. For people like Bannon and Musk, it thrills them that they can display history’s most despised gesture and get away with it. They’re like a couple of giggly adolescents who just painted a swastika on the wall of their high school.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.