The Grotesque Age

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Donald Trump was inaugurated as the President of the United States on Monday and ushered in with him an era of unchecked power for the most depraved human beings in the world. 

At approximately 12pm ET, Trump was sworn in, flanked by an unholy trinity of lecherous billionaires. By 12:45pm ET, the Customs and Border Patrol mobile app had been shut down and people waiting for 1pm asylum appointments across the border from El Paso, Texas were informed they were no longer valid. Not even a full 60 minutes elapsed before the administration added a metric ton of accelerant to a fire of cruelty, torment and heartbreak. Hope the price of eggs was worth it.

After the official inauguration, a celebration in Washington, DC’s Capital One Arena brought together Trump, his highest profile supporters and regular people for whom Mein Kampf is a beach read to celebrate the big day. Elon Musk, billionaire and menace to civilization, was one of the speakers. In the middle of his remarks he thumped his chest with an open palm, then extended his arm and fingers perfectly straight to make a 45 degree angle salute at the crowd. A moment later, he did it again. I did Nazi that coming. 

If you don’t believe me that what Musk appeared to be doing was a Nazi salute, just ask actual Nazis. Per Rolling Stone:

Despite the obvious meaning, corporate news organizations were all too willing to give Musk the benefit of the doubt—or even gloss over his actions entirely. “Elon Musk Ignites Online Speculation Over the Meaning of a Hand Gesture,” the New York Times observed. “Elon Musk gives exuberant speech at inauguration,” The Washington Post declared. “Elon Musk celebrates Trump’s victory,” the Associated Press simply stated. Newsweek’s Deputy Opinion Editor blamed the salute on Musk’s autism. Some local TV news affiliates like NBC Chicago, Fox 5 Washington, and WJLA (the ABC affiliate) even posted versions of the video that strategically cuts away before the first and most obvious salute.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) had the chutzpah to chime in and tell us that we shouldn’t believe our own eyes. The org posted the following statement on Twitter and it was re-shared by CEO Jonathan Greenblatt:

When I reached out to ADL for comment, a spokesperson just sent me a link to their tweet. I replied: “So the official statement of the ADL, the supposed premiere organization defending American Jews, is that a Nazi salute that everyone saw happen—TWICE—didn’t actually happen?” 

I unsurprisingly have not heard back.

Of all the shocking and horrific things that happened Monday, the ADL cowering to despots isn’t high on the list. I have repeatedly documented Greenblatt’s abject cowardice: In November 2023 while Musk was posting “abhorrent” antisemitic tweets and directly attacking the ADL, Greenblatt spoke before Congress and said the real threat to American Jews were university presidents. When Trump’s previous praise for Hitler was reported in October, the ADL said nothing. And when Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden that was eerily reminiscent of the 1939 “Pro American Rally” hosted by an American Nazi organization, the ADL could barely bother to comment. 

The ADL has repeatedly shown who they are, and once again it’s time to believe our eyes.

The Jewish Council on Public Affairs, to its credit, had a much more clear-eyed take: “Elon Musk knows precisely what he was doing with his fascist Roman salute at today’s Trump rally – which follows his explicit embrace of far-right parties and policies. If you’re surprised, you haven’t been paying attention,” CEO Amy Spitalnik wrote in a statement. “We know precisely where this extremist behavior leads, normalizing and emboldening avowed neo-Nazis and white supremacists who take this as a stamp of approval for their targeting of Jews, immigrants, people of color, and so many others.”

By Monday evening, the extremism had already begun. Trump issued a flurry of Executive Orders pertaining to everything from ending birthright citizenship to working to end legal recognition of trans people and ending government Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. He also pardoned all 1,500 people who were charged with storming the capitol on January 6, 2021, “including 174 charged with using weapons or assaulting police and conspirators who plotted "to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power,” according to Reuters. It was an all-out blitz.

In the past eight years we’ve reflexively fought back against the right wing by pointing out the hypocrisy of their repugnant actions. But the problem is that Republicans do not care about being hypocrites. It’s why MAGA lackey Charlie Kirk was able to say in 2020 that TikTok should be banned and then turn around in 2025 and say Trump saved the country by saving the social media platform. He knows there are no repercussions for being a spineless little shit because as long as it aligns with what Dear Leader is saying at any given moment, it’s totally fine. Being a true Trump believer requires not believing in anything but him. 

To that end, instead of calling out right wing hypocrisy, it’s crucial to just call things what they are. Just as some news orgs managed to describe what Musk did in plain language, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram video Sunday night in response to whether or not she’d be attending the inauguration, “I don’t celebrate rapists.” Conservatives naturally flipped out, with Chaya Raichik of @LibsofTikTok (the Twitter account that directs violence at LGBTQ+ children) commenting: “AOC calls Trump a r*pist. Another person Trump should sue.” In true, glorious fashion AOC replied: “Oh, are you triggered? Cry more.”

If we have any hope of getting through the next four years and beyond, it’s by calling balls and strikes as we see them—and not kowtowing to fascists hellbent on cloistering themselves away while general suffering metastasizes.

Trump’s first day back in office was as shocking as it was grotesque. The richest and most powerful men in the world lined up behind as they, too, were sworn into by proxy. Mark Zuckerberg and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh later hobnobbed over a catered lunch presented by servers in white coats. This followed by a weekend of inaugural balls and tech soirees to celebrate this new dawn of unfettered capitalism and unchecked power.

In a tweet posted shortly after the inauguration, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote: “It’s official. America’s Golden Age has arrived.” Something tells me the history books won’t include this moniker—and it’s our duty to make sure they don't.

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