Steve Bannon denies using 'Nazi salute' and claims he was waving to crowd

22 February 2025, 09:21 | Updated: 22 February 2025, 09:24

Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has denied giving a 'Nazi salute' during a speech yesterday.

Bannon did the gesture while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday.

He told a reporter after the event it was "a wave like I did all the time".

"I do it at the end of all of my speeches to thank the crowd," he added.

It came as he urged the audience to "fight, fight, fight", garnering a round of applause from those in attendance.

The Anti-Defamation League, an antisemitism and human rights watchdog, posted on X: "Steve Bannon's long and disturbing history of stoking antisemitism and hate, threatening violence, and empowering extremists is well known and well documented by ADL and others.

"We are not surprised, but are concerned about the normalisation of this behaviour."

During his speech, Bannon called for Trump to run again for a third term in 2028.

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He said "the only way we lose is if we quit" and that they will never "surrender".

Responding to the gesture, one person posted on X: "Steve Bannon, after calling for Trump to be President for life, did a Nazi salute on stage at CPAC.

"Nazism has officially taken over the GOP."

Another person said: "Steve Bannon definitely did a Nazi salute at CPAC. Vile."

At the same conference, a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk has accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of running a 'fraud machine feeding off dead soldiers' in a fresh attack on the Ukrainian leader.

Musk reiterated calls for the Ukrainian president to hold an election but claimed he wouldn't because "he knows he would lose in a landslide".

The tech giant attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with Argentina Prime Minister Javier Millei on Thursday, where he appeared in a MAGA hat holding up a chainsaw - representing the cuts he was making to the federal government.

It comes after Elon Musk was also accused of doing a 'Nazi salute' during a celebration of Donald Trump's inauguration.

While addressing a crowd of MAGA supporters in January, he made a gesture putting his right hand on his chest before raising it in the air.

Then he turned and made the same hand gesture to the crowd behind him.

He drew intense criticism but defended his actions the following day, stating that his opponents needed "better dirty tricks" and that the "everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired".