‘Why Won’t You Do It?’ CNN Segment Turns Fiery as Scott Jennings and Catherine Rampell Clash Over Musk’s ‘Nazi Salute’

Staff Writer

A fiery exchange erupted between CNN’s Scott Jennings and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell on Monday over a controversial salute given by Elon Musk at a rally last week.

At a post-inauguration rally, Musk, who spent over $250 million backing former President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, took the stage to thank his supporters. During his speech, Musk raised his right hand and thrust it upward in a gesture strikingly similar to a Nazi salute. Despite the obvious resemblance, Musk and his defenders, including Jennings, have dismissed the claim that the gesture was intended as a nod to Nazism. But on Monday’s CNN NewsNight, Rampell called Jennings’ defense of Musk into question, daring him to replicate the salute on live TV—a challenge he declined.

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Rampell, who pointed out she was the only Jewish person at the table, also reflected on some of Musk’s controversial remarks about Jewish people in the past.

“I don’t understand why this guy keeps getting the benefit of the doubt, whether or not he believes this stuff, personally,” Rampell said, referring to those defending Musk amid the backlash.

Jennings quickly responded, “We’ve moved on from Trump derangement syndrome to Elon derangement syndrome. So, he has a long record of supporting the Jewish people, number one. Number two, anybody who is asserting this thing he did on the stage the other day was a Sieg Heil, which I just heard you say, you know, lawyer up maybe because, absolute[ly] ridiculous thing to say.”

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Rampell fired back, pushing Jennings to take action: “Why don’t you do it on TV right now?” she said. “Why don’t you do it on TV right now if you think it’s so, so banal.”

Although Jennings declined the challenge, Rampell didn’t back down, repeating the dare moments later:

JENNINGS: “This salute trutherism is outrageous. This is the most—”

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RAMPELL: “So do it right now on TV.”

JENNINGS: “This is the biggest conspiracy theory—”

RAMPELL: “Do it right now on TV. If you think it’s normal, if you think it’s a normal way to greet people, do it right now on TV! Why won’t you?”

Musk’s controversial ties to far-right movements have sparked criticism in recent months. He has publicly endorsed the German political party, Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany), whose leaders have been criticized for making fascistic remarks and minimizing the Holocaust. In a video address to the party over the weekend, Musk told attendees in Germany that there is “too much of a focus on past guilt” and suggested the country needs to “move beyond that.” Additionally, Musk has been criticized for agreeing with a tweet in 2023 that claimed Jews were “pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” Musk initially replied, “You have said the actual truth” before attempting to walk back the comment.

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Watch the exchange below:

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