Billionaire and Trump administration insider Elon Musk spoke virtually to a crowd of supporters of the far-right AfD party in Halle, Germany on Saturday, telling Germans to let go of “past guilt” in his strongest endorsement of the party yet.
“It’s okay to be proud to be German, this is a very important principle,” Musk said on Saturday, drawing cheers from the crowd. “It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.”
The phrase was a near-direct quotation of the neo-Nazi NDP party’s former slogan, “Ich bin stolz, ein Deutscher zu sein.” (“I’m proud to be German.”)
The rally, reportedly attended by more than 4,500, comes weeks ahead of a national election that could deliver the far-right its best electoral performance since the 1930s.
During his speech, Musk told rallygoers their party was “the best hope for the future of Germany.” He also suggested that voters shouldn’t feel guilty about the Holocaust or other “sins” in the nation’s past.
“I think there is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that,” Musk, who was born in apartheid South Africa, added. “Children should not feel guilty for the sins of their parents, or their great-grandparents even.”
The sly reference to the NDP wasn’t the first trollish neo-Nazi dogwhistle Musk has made this week. At an Inauguration Day rally, the X owner twice threw a gesture that fascism experts identified as a “Nazi salute.”
European leaders have been sounding alarm bells over Musk’s recent attempts to influence elections on the continent. While Musk’s meddling has almost exclusively focused on far-right movements, leaders suspect the billionaire’s ultimate goal is creating a less-regulated Europe where he can more easily make money.
“Musk is strengthening those who are weakening Europe,” German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said earlier this month. “A weak Europe is in the interest of those for whom regulation is an inappropriate limitation of their power.”
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