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Nazispolozza: The Left’s Third Reich Mania Collapses into Comedy
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Below is my column in the New York Post on the latest attack on Elon Musk from the left. There is a mania on the left in calling people with opposing views “Nazis” and referencing the Third Reich. The left has jumped the Nazi shark in this rhetoric as the public tunes out these increasingly hysterical voices.

Here is the column:

One of the least successful efforts of the left and many in the media this election was to paint Republican voters as “Nazis” hellbent on destroying democracy.

While once verboten as a political comparison, liberal politicians and pundits have developed something of a Nazi fetish, where every statement and gesture is declared a return of the Third Reich. It seems like each news event presents a Rorschach test where every inkblot looks like a Nazi.

That mania reached absurd, even comedic, levels with the attack on Elon Musk over an awkward gesture during the inauguration celebration.

An exuberant Musk told the crowd, “My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.” As he gave those words, he placed his right hand on his chest and stretched his arm outward, his palm facing the floor. He then repeated the gesture before putting his hand on his chest again.

It was all done in a matter of seconds, but it was enough for the usual mob to erupt in faux outrage.

Pundits insisted that Musk had chosen the moment to come out as a Nazi on national television. The Washington Post breathlessly reported this week how the “Nazi-style salute” had “invigorated fans on the far right.” The usual liberal professors were rolled out to offer a patina of authority to the ridiculous claim.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University, declared, “Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.”

Mike Stuchbery went on X (the company owned by the man he now suggests is a Nazi reenactor) to declare, “I studied the Nazis at university, taught the history of Nazi Germany on two continents and wrote for major newspapers about Nazi Germany. I am internet famous for fact-checking chuds [gross people] on the history, ideology and policy of Nazi Germany. That was a Nazi salute.”

Well, that settles it.

As the outrage continued, any doubt or dissent was denounced as evidence that you are obviously a Nazi as well.

That became a bit embarrassing when the leading Jewish organization, the Anti-Defamation League, stated the obvious: This was not a Nazi salute but rather an “awkward gesture.”

The core principle of liberal mob tactics is that there can be no divergence, even by a group like the ADL. The way to deal with opposing ideas or writings is by making someone persona non grata. If you do not cancel others, you will be canceled.

So the ADL was effectively declared soft on Nazis by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity. People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.”

We’ve reached a level of absurdity where Jewish advocates are treated like they are virtual Nazi sympathizers.

This is not the first time the Democrats have labeled Trump and his supporters “Nazis.”

It started years ago as Democrats repeated analogies of Trump to Hitler and his followers to brownshirted neo-Nazis. Defeating Trump has been compared to stopping Hitler in 1933, and media personalities like Rachel Maddow went on the air with a hysterical claim that “death squads” were authorized by the Supreme Court.

When Trump held a massive rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden before the election, the media were apoplectic and immediately declared it … you guessed it … akin to a Nazi rally. From the Washington Post to the New York Times, the media formed an affinity group meeting to fret over “echoes of 1939.” In case anyone missed the message, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz emphasized “a direct parallel” with the Nazis.

Over at the Nation, David Zirin treated Madison Square Garden (known for everything from cage fights to dog shows) as an almost Vatican-like space: “With his fascist New York City rally, Donald Trump has befouled what many believe to be a sacred space: Madison Square Garden.”

So Trump is a Nazi. Musk is a Nazi. Half the country are Nazis.

The problem is that, if you say everyone is a Nazi, then no one is a Nazi. It loses its meaning.

That includes Ocasio-Cortez, who appears to have joined the ranks of the Reich after critics posted her making a Musk-like gesture during a speech.

There was no torrent of media fretting about how the gesture reflected the extremism of AOC’s questioning need for a Supreme Court, seeking to bar Trump and dozens of Republicans from ballots, or supporting censorship. AOC is a certified Nazi hunter, a license that seems only to be available to figures on the left.

Of course, labeling political opponents as diabolically evil fanatics and seeking to bar candidates from ballots sounds a lot like … well … it sounds familiar.

There is an alternative. We can put the rage rhetoric aside and have honest debates over differences on politics and laws. In other words, we can fight over policy … and leave the Nazis out of it.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

417 thoughts on “Nazispolozza: The Left’s Third Reich Mania Collapses into Comedy”

  1. I am posting this link to VDH since his post this morning is so in sync with this conversation. From his comments, it seems as if we can expect more and more of this insane rhetoric until the last cult member ages out of this world.

  2. Just to be clear to some of the dopey lefty posters here, no one is interested in the opinion of what is and is not a “Nazi salute” from people who have spent the better part of the last two years cheering for Hamas.

    1. Isn’t it a fact that the young, deluded TDS-suffering progs who are wrapping themselves in the headdress and flags of a terrorist organization and we are to just stand by and allow “free speech”? Let’s make a chart of each hateful action of the prog/left compared to those who support MAGA and analyze just who is the more violent and uncivilized?

  3. Excellent column today, professor but I would not call it comedy but stupidity. Just look at all our leftists friends, having their mental melt down. Doing everything they can to twist themselves into a pretzel to call Musk and everyone Nazis. It only goes on to show exactly how their deranged TDS has infected their brains. I have a Jewish friend who even said, “Ah, no. That is nothing of the kind. Not even close.”

      1. I am not the one having a mental melt down over something that was clearly NOT a Nazi salute. Anyone with a IQ above 88 could see it was not a Nazi salute. But then there is you and your low elevator level IQ.

      2. It is you who is having a mental meltdown over something anyone with a IQ above 88 can tell is not a Nazi salute. But thank you for putting your lower elevator level IQ on full display for us all to see.
        How marvelous!!

    2. Upstate– when I first saw the video clip of Musk (without any sound), knowing who he is, I knew it was not intended to be a Nazi salute but thought it was strange. Later, I was able to hear what he said as he made the gesture. He obviously was symbolically grabbing his heart and throwing it to the people who had helped elect Donald Trump. When his actual words were listened to as he made the gesture, there can be no doubt. Is it possible that those with TDS who called it a Nazi salute do not realize how stupid they are? To me this is proof positive that “TDS has infected their brains.” Of course, there are many other symptoms: supporting Kamala Harris for President, electing Adam Schiff to the Senate, believing anything Maxine Waters says, and failing to laugh out loud when the Episcopal Bishop lectured President Trump.

      1. Honestlawyermostly,
        Exactly!! One would think it was obvious but in their fevered TDS minds, everything is Nazi!Nazi!Nazi! Sad part is they do not realize how stupid the look or sound in all this.

    3. “I have a Jewish friend who even said, “Ah, no. That is nothing of the kind. Not even close.”

      Jews who sincerely engage in their religious community recoil at the suggestion that Musk is an anti-semite. They accept the fact that the left is littered with anti-semites, recognizing that many are of the low IQ type like George Svelaz. The G-Ss of the world are thrilled to jump on the bandwagon of hate, which, in their eyes, elevates them above their dull existence, permitting them to be noticed. That is the type of person who frequented Hitler rallies and cheered while destroying Jewish businesses. Jews are no longer ready to go to the gas chambers, as Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran recently learned. Take note of that, George Svelaz, while you spew your cowardly anti-semitic statements.

  5. “Nazispolozza: The Left’s Third Reich Mania Collapses into Comedy.”
    ***********************************
    What do you expect? The Left is a clown show. BTW, OMB (Orange Man Bad) is laying the law down in Davos today at the WEF but doing so remotely. Seems he has more important work to do in person in western North Carolina and the People’s Republic of Los Angeles. Such a bastido that Trump! Favoring haggard disaster victims over the assemblage of “beautiful people” arriving on their private Gulf Stream G800s in the Rhaetian Alps to complain about greenhouse gas emissions.

    1. I rather enjoyed watching a video clip this morning of Ezra Levant of Rebel News try to get Larry Fink to say anything on his stroll down the street to meet with his fellow Davos elites to redesign the world.

    2. Mespo chest thumps about the orange man again, thinking he’s kicking ass when he’s really just manually destroying the economic future of the U.S.

  6. Greetings. Obama made that same hand gesture to his followers while standing outside of Air Force One. Democrazis are real.

  7. “While once verboten as a political comparison, liberal politicians and pundits have developed something of a Nazi fetish, where every statement and gesture is declared a return of the Third Reich.”

    HaHaHa. Love slipping in the German word “verbotten” to mock their idiocy. How fascist of you.

    Unfortunately, however, it’s simply not true. It’s happened in almost every Presidential election, if not every one, since 1948.

    Here’s the New York Times story from 1948 with Harry Truman kicking it all off:

    https://www.nytimes.com/1948/10/26/archives/president-likens-dewey-to-hitler-as-fascists-tool-says-when-bigots.html

    Imagine what a rotten piece of sh!t you must be to send the sons of Republican parents to die in Europe to help defeat Hitler and Mussolini only to have said POS Democrat nominee compare you to Hitler.

    And here’s Daniel Greenfield documenting that elected Democrats have used the slur in nearly every cycle since 1948.
    https://bkdvk-zgpvh.campaign-view.com/ua/viewinbrowser?od=3z2bfeefc6e25f26cf812b76a5b8ac0e30e27282f9efb6946a6fa34a9221491b79&rd=11289f96a6e3d3bba&sd=11289f96a6e3baba1&n=11699e4be8b3861&mrd=11289f96a6e3bab8d&m=1

    Of course it demonstrates how truly awful Democrats are. But it also shows they believe their own voters are idiots and morons to call Republicans fascists EVERY election cycle for 80 years and yet fascism never appears.

    That prompted the former author, Thomas Wolfe, to note: “The dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe.”

    1. ” But it also shows they believe their own voters are idiots and morons to call Republicans fascists EVERY election cycle for 80 years and yet fascism never appears.”

      They would seem to be correct in that assessment of their own voters. Democrats have won their share of elections using such tactics, have they not? If I recall my history correctly, Truman beat Dewey by a landslide. That isn’t exactly encouraging. “There are idiots. Look around.”

  8. “I studied the Nazis . . .”

    What a wonderful example of how modern “intellectuals” manipulate you.

    Assert something (“That was a Nazi salute.”) Ignore the need for an argument. But preface your (arbitrary) assertion with a condensed version of your CV.

    That is always an embarrassing admission: I got nothing. But I am an “authority.”

    2. The Progressive latte, capucchino swilling demofools have no discussion and no argument with any validity; they are like children in a dayschool yelling names because intellectually they have “nothing”. Name calling is so so so crude and vulgar; but that is all they have; that is all they have; pathetic..
      Respectfully.

    3. In debate, that’s what’s rejected as The Appeal To Authority. Essentially an attempt to be a self licking ice cream cone.

      Gigi has tried it with “I’m a lawyer”.
      Gigi has tried it with “I’m a nurse”.

      I think she might have claimed the mantle of authoritative in a few other fields as well. Fashion designer? Porn model?

      It’s always a failure in moderated debates, but it’s Biden-level failure when that’s all you’ve got to support the declarations you’re attempting to make.

      Old Airborne Dog

    4. “What a wonderful example of how modern “intellectuals” manipulate you.”

      I consider his claim to be an argument ex cathedra, which is a classic logical fallacy.

  9. The ADL’s inability to explain why Elon’s ‘salute’ isn’t a Nazi salute is hilariously stupid. It’s virtually guaranteed that they would be losing their minds if Biden did it. They are giving Elon a pass because he was a bit…too excited. Come on.

    The attempts to make excuses for his obvious gesture make it worse. Just call it for what it was, a very nazi-like salute that everyone knows looks bad because Nazis used it all the time.

    1. “The ADL’s inability . . .”

      If you want an explanation for the Left’s reaction to Musk’s gesture, don’t consult the ADL. Consult the APA. They better equipped to deal with delusions.

      1. The ADL is always the first to criticize anything deemed anti-semitic. A Nazi-like gesture that they can’t explain as anything else begs the question of why they can’t call it for what it is.

        It’s amusing how hard even the ADL tries to avoid acknowledging the most obvious gestures as anything else. They would be the first to call it out if Biden did it. Guaranteed.

        People defending Elon’s obvious…faux pas as an innocent mistake by pointing out that it was a ‘Roman salute’ that, ironically, the Nazis adopted as their own is hilarious. I thought the “common sense” crowd would be able to recognize the common sense observation. Willful denial is easier than to call it for what it is.

    2. Please watch the clip posted of AOL, which JT references four paragraphs from the bottom of his column ^^^^
      Then tell us how this differs.

      1. She is raving about something and used the words “there”, and then used her arm to gesture in a direction. Also her arm was angled much more parallel to her body than the Nazis, which is perpendicular.

  10. Sure, maybe the nazi salute was nonsense. But look at the rest of Musks life. He is a fascist. So yea, could it have been a Nazi salute? Yep.

    2. “Musk is a fascist?” Or maybe ‘semi-fascist’? So it’s “probably a Nazi salute”?

      The New Hitler Youth Movement of the Democrats have sent their Anonymous spokesman here to announce Musk’s sentence.

      The Anti-Semitic Socialist Sisterhood Sisterhood in the House approve of this message. Rashid Tlaib’s sentence pronounced on Musk has been delivered.

      How are these Democrat Anonymous freedom fighters able to get access to the internet so easily while fighting the filthy Jews invading Gaza and oppressing their fellow Arab hajjis? Oh I forgot: there’s a ceasefire!

      Old Airborne Dog

  11. That these people expect to be taken seriously is laughable. But I don’t think it’s funny. The Bolsheviks (which means “majority” in Russian) were thought to be minor fringe movement that could be dismissed due to their lack of power and extreme views. Because they weren’t a majority. Not even close, no matter how incompetent Tsar Nicolas was. They were thought to be a violent fringe- a joke.

    Until they weren’t.

    What followed was one of the greatest human tragedies in recorded history.

    So I do not find this level of demagoguery and lunacy comedy at all. I find it alarming.

    1. If it’s not that big a deal, why not adopt it as an American greeting from now on? Teach it to kids in school and let them know the Jewish community is ok with it.

      The level of ignorance about the obvious optics of Elon’s spastic ‘salute’ is astounding—a stellar example of our poor education system.

  12. After Inauguration Day, I felt great. I felt like America was coming out of the “Dark Ages”. The sun shone brighter, everything just seemed more positive. Even with Trump’s first term, the lying media, the Russian collusion, Comey, Strozk, Acosta, Vindman, Schiff, Pelosi, and so many others had cast a cloud over what could and should have been great. I can’t remember having this much confidence and hope for our country’s future.

    1. You are a sick fu-K if electing a fascist make you feel great. I pity you when you stand in front of the pearly gates and Peter says who are you.

      1. Being a cowardly Anonymous commie means not knowing what that word ‘fascist’ means. Or alternately, that channeling your sins onto those you hate is confession in communist theology.

        Another bitter angry commie Democrat atheist attempts to cosplay having Christian beliefs, now that the police state fascism of Biden and Obama has ended.

        What will they do now that they can’t send the FBI to perjure themselves to courts in order to get fraudulent spy warrants to deprive thousands of Americans of their civil rights while using federal law enforcement to take out their enemies? No more Soviet show trial impeachments behind closed doors with only prosecution witnesses allowed?

        It’s time for the pearl clutching to begin!

        (I do hope they continue to cling to the election strategy of 2016 and again for 2024 in the upcoming elections after it served them so well in those elections)

        Old Airborne Dog

  13. I’m surprised BB (Bishop Budd) did not call the whole church on Tuesday a bunch of Nazi’s. She did everything but say the words and then ran off to CNN to explain herself.
    She acted more like Gandalf with a staff and was probably ready to strike the president and hope for some transformation like Theoden in the Two Towers.
    She needs to turn in her staff and regalia and move to the desert of Sinai and search for god and faith there. You certainly won’t find it in DC. That city is more like Mordor.

    2. “She acted more like Gandalf with a staff ”

      Gandolf had far more integrity that that frocked joker. More like Grima Wormtongue, in my estimation.

    3. “She acted more like Gandalf with a staff”

      Gandalf had far more integrity than that frocked joker. More like Grima Wormtongue, in my estimation.

  14. OMG! The Beatles were Nazis! Remember Juden Raus??? Juden is the accusative form of Jude!!! Which means Jew! And the Beatles even dared to put out a “White” Album! They never put out a Black Album, so they are definitely white supremacists! And where did the Beatles get their start??? In Germany!!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOG2S7zGnyc

  15. This is the time when we can separate out the rational old democrats from the nut jobs that have taken over the party. Adults like Fetterman (except for his style of wardrobe) and his ilk see the benefit of working with Trump and his supporters for the good of the country rather than his brainwashed cult member colleagues who are so far in to wokeness and TDS that they have left the real world and live in their own bizarre universe somewhere else.

  16. “. . . the attack on Elon Musk over an awkward gesture . . .”

    Imagine the howls of protest if he had made that gesture while standing in Madison Square Garden.

  17. The Leftists have dragged the Democratic Party down to sniveling irrelevancy. They dig the hole of their eventual political grave deeper with every misrepresentation and unhinged accusation. But what else can they do? What else have they got? They have lost everything. Presidency, the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court: all gone. It’s not easy dealing with loss. And boy did they lose. They never thought they would have to face this day. All they have left is the media, and even that is slipping away– slowly for now, but increasing in speed and frequency. The note Biden should have left in Trump’s desk should have read: “Après moi, le déluge.”

      1. Vincente-Unfortunately McConnell, Murkowski, and Collins will keep the DEM’s alive in the Senate.

  18. The Democrats can’t have reasonable policy debates about issues because their electoral model is based on emotionally driven base turnout of mostly hysterical women. If they can’t demonize their opponents as evil (and not merely wrong), they can’t generate the turnout they need. Therefore, they can’t concede that their opponents might be right about anything at all – even small things.

  19. It’s kind of amusing listening to Turley rant about how the left calls people on the right “Nazis” because their behavior and attitudes actually resemble Nazi behavior. Just look at Musk throwing up that “Roman salute” — it’s pretty clear.

    I don’t see Turley calling out the right for throwing around terms like Marxists, Socialists, and Fascists in a similar fit of ‘rage.’

    His attempt to defend Musk, despite how obvious it is, just makes things worse. It’s like when he tried to distract from Trump’s poor pardon choices by pointing fingers at Biden instead. Whataboutism seems to be his go-to move when he’s faced with valid criticism of Trump or anyone from the right.

    Funny enough, if Elon did that in Germany, he could actually end up charged with a crime.

    1. The human arm has a limited repertoire. I really could not care less what salute anyone uses. Really. Not concerned at all.

      And Germany is run by true idiots so a salute being punished in Germany is only significant in that it illustrates how stupid their society has become.

      Roman Salute, George

      1. Obviously, you have not learned anything about why WWII was so bad. I’m sure the Jews will disagree with you.

        If you feel that kind of indifference about the Nazi salute, then being indifferent to Israel’s claims about the holocaust should be treated the same. Right?

        1. “I’m sure the Jews will disagree with you.”

          George Svelaz, you keep leaning on imaginary Jews to justify your laughable attack on Musk. Are you so dense that you can’t even read the Bible to grasp what Jews actually believe? Your drivel is so absurd that even the dumbest anti-Semites would struggle to follow it. Yet here you are, proudly making a spectacle of yourself and parading your ignorance for all to see.”

        2. I have gotten tired of Israelis playing the holocaust card. I didn’t do itt, my ancestors didn’t do it. I’m not going to be guided in my thoughts, not going to worry about someone else’s tribal tribulations. Not my problem.

    2. Hysterical blue-haired freaks, men stealing women’s luggage, angry frigid feminists in pink pussy hats, hateful, yet uniformed congressional representative spewing hate and nothing else all over the floor of the House of Representatives, colluding cult members hiding the dementia of our less-than-competent Commander in Chief, media sycophants pandering and selling lies…Sure – we have Trump but look what you guys are stuck holding….

    4. It’s kind of amusing listening to Turley rant about how the left calls people on the right “Nazis” because their behavior and attitudes

      It gets tiring when George comes here every day to lie and smear his host Professor Turley – while he spends much of his time defending the police state fascism of Biden and the Democrats when Professor Turley criticizes it. You know – the police state fascist tactics of Hitler and Stalin that he embraces when Democrats use it to attack parents at school board meetings, traditional Catholics, etc.

      If George didn’t have smears and lies, he would be as empty as a discarded used condom.

      Old Airborne Dog

  20. That’s not the case at all, Elon has a “Limited-Range of Motion” in his right arm shoulder due to a Dirtbike accident when he was a teen.
    First off – why do they need to look deep into everyone’s medical history, haven’t they heard of H.I.P.A. ?
    Second, They accept the AC injury of a NFL Player without out associating it with his Political Affiliations or Portfolio of Millions.($).
    Third, It’s none of their _ _ _ _ing business what Elon does or whom he does it with, IT’S HIS LIFE, NOT YOURS.

    The Individuals labeling Others as “Nazis”, are acting as and are the “Nazis”. Idiots!

    https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/shoulder-joint-tear-glenoid-labrum-tear/
    https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/shoulder-impingementrotator-cuff-tendinitis/

    1. That’s an excuse? LOL!!

      I guess a simple hand wave is too hard for his “disabilty”. What a load of BS.

      Making excuses only makes it worse. Just call it for what it is. It was a ill conceived “salute” that everyone knew was a Nazi salute.

      1. Agree, George. To my mind, Elon doesn’t let an old arm injury get in the way of a “Roman” salute.

        Side note: Broke my wrist a few years ago; can still play octaves on my piano.

        1. you both are wrong. If you had any medical knowledge you would know that not all similar injuries return the same results.

      2. What you emotional demagogues seem to intentionally fail to understand is that it doesn’t matter what it “looked like”. It only matters what it “was”. Especially in context. Context matters. There is no thinking person with a mental capacity beyond a brain injured cocker spaniel who can hear his words in context and believe he was making a “Nazi salute”. If I raise my arm and rapidly move it forward, it does not mean I am throwing a forward pass. Except in context.

        Please grow up. As it is important to have a functioning opposing party in a Republic. Of course, the libertarians have wanted to be that for awhile. So, I guess you can carry on. I mean, I guess calling everyone Nazis worked pretty well for President Harris.

      4. You’ll never see him playing tennis,
        You’ll never see him playing Racquetball,
        He won’t be shooting Hoops,

        Now, is that because he’s a Nazi or because he has had an Shoulder injury?

        Nazis don’t play Tennis,
        Nazis don’t play Racquetball,
        Nazis don”t play Hoop,
        Now, is that because White Men can’t Jump or this Nazi thing is just another DEM’s Hustle.

        It’s beyond me to say whether or not it is.

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