Legacy media, AOC silent on Mamdani’s ‘Nazi salute’ despite endless criticism of Elon Musk for same gesture

After Elon Musk gestured and said, "My heart goes out to you," when Trump won the 2024 election, there was coverage from various legacy media outlets characterizing the gesture as a "Nazi salute." Some reports at the time included Politico, CNN, MSNBC, and others. Those legacy outlets, however, have not reported on Mamdani's gesture performed on Thursday.

https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2006972268858191986

During his inauguration speech on Thursday, Mamdani made a similar gesture, placing his hand over his heart, then raising it to the crowd with an extended arm.

https://twitter.com/tpostmillennial/status/2006976233893146832

Many were quick to point out the movement, questioning whether the legacy media or those on the left would call it a "Nazi salute" as they did with Musk.

https://twitter.com/C_3C_3/status/2006953323526803560?s=20

"All these Media outlets compared Elon’s wave to a Nazi salute: NYT, BBC, NPR, CNN, Axios, WaPo, Reuters, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, USA Today, The Guardian, The Independent. They knew it was a lie. None will do it for Mamdani. Propaganda Media is the Enemy of the People," X account C3 said.

X user Angela Belcamino said, "If Elon Musk is a Nazi for making that hand gesture… Zohran Mamdani is one too. Sorry, I don’t make the rules."

https://twitter.com/AngelaBelcamino/status/2006931374637515071?s=20

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who gave the welcome message at the Mamdani's inauguration on Thursday, slammed Musk when he came under fire for the supposed "Nazi salute." She said at the time that in America, "we hate Nazis" in reference to Musk's gesture.

“Two of probably the most foundation-defining things about American history is that we beat the Confederates and we beat the Nazis,” she said at the time. “I don’t know what side people may be on today, but I am still not rocking with anyone sympathetic to Nazis, and I will do that until I am 6 feet in the ground.”

However, since Mamdani's similar gesture on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez has been silent on the topic. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who also spoke at Mamdani's inauguration, had gone after Musk when he made the gesture.

Posting the video of Musk making the gesture, Sanders posted in January 2025, "Elon Musk has been backing neo-Nazi parties around the world, interfering in elections and using his massive platform to attack anyone who doesn’t share his extreme right-wing views."

https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1882161566042538241?s=20

He too has not said anything about the similarity of Mamdani's gesture to Musk since Thursday.