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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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Steve Bannon has been accused of making a "Nazi" salute while giving a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday.
Newsweek has contacted Bannon for comment via email outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
The incident occurred soon after Elon Musk, another top ally of Donald Trump, was accused of giving a Nazi salute on stage during an event celebrating the president's January inauguration.
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What to Know
Bannon, host of the influential War Room podcast and a former White House chief strategist during Trump's first term, gave a speech Thursday at the annual conservative gathering in Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
During his speech, Bannon repeated his calls for Trump to run for an unconstitutional third term, telling the crowd, "We want Trump in '28."
Bannon later said near the end of his speech that "the only way we lose is if we quit" and that they will never "surrender." He then chanted "fight, fight, fight" before raising his right arm with his palm down.
A number of left-wing figures and Trump critics accused Bannon of giving a Nazi salute on stage at CPAC.
Others accused Bannon of mimicking the salute Musk gave as he spoke during an inaugural event in Washington, D.C., on January 20. Musk pounded his chest and raised his right arm in an angular motion while giving his speech.
Musk denied that his arm movement was a Nazi salute, posting on X, formerly Twitter, that his critics need "better dirty tricks" because the "'everyone is Hitler' attack is so tired."
His defenders said Musk's raised-arm movement was a "heart goes out to you" gesture. Others said it was a "Roman salute," an extended arm gesture popularly believed to have been used in ancient Rome.
While the Roman salute is depicted in 18th and 19th-century art, there is no historical evidence from ancient Rome that it was a common practice.
A number of social media users also said that Bannon gave a Roman salute at CPAC while sharing clips of his speech.
Following the outcry over Musk's gesture, right-wing figures shared photos of high-profile Democrats, such as former President Barack Obama and ex-Vice President Kamala Harris, raising one arm while delivering speeches.
Some social media users said the photos suggest Musk's gesture was taken out of context, as there was no outrage over the innocuous gestures from Democratic figures.
What People Are Saying
Steve Bannon in his CPAC speech said on Thursday: "The hardest, toughest days are ahead, folks, but you know what? Riyadh, Berlin, Beijing, Moscow, the city of London, right here. This is not beatable. The only way we lose is if we quit, the only way we don't have victory is if we surrender. The only way that they win, is if we retreat, and we're not going to retreat. We're not going to surrender. We're not going to quit. Fight, fight fight."
Political commentator Brian Krassenstein posted on X: "Steve Bannon does a NAZI salute at the end of his CPAC speech. Someone try and convince me that he didn't."
Joshua Reed Eakle, president of the Project Liberal organization, 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. The few remaining conservatives have a choice: either leave the party and obstruct it—or choose to be complicit."
Wajahat Ali wrote, columnist and co-host of the Democracy-ish podcast, wrote: "All Republicans defending Bannon and Musk's 'Roman Salute,' please do it live on TV. If it's harmless, you should have no problem doing it."
The Concerned Citizen X account, which has more than 875,000 followers, posted: "The angles between a Nazi salute & a Roman salute come down to extremely fine margins. This is also top-tier trolling."
Far-right pundit Nick Fuentes speaking on his podcast: "Elon threw up a Roman salute. And then the other thing at CPAC...Bannon gets up there and says, 'I think Trump's gonna run in '28.' He goes, 'We want Trump,' and then he throws up a straight-up Roman salute. It's getting a little uncomfortable, even for me. Even I'm starting to feel like that guy in the picture that wouldn't hail Hitler."
What Happens Next
Bannon has yet to publicly respond to the "Nazi salute" allegations. Trump is set to speak at CPAC on Saturday.
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