Debate continues to swirl around whether Elon Musk intentionally appeared to make a Nazi salute during Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, and Seth Meyers has officially decided to give the billionaire the benefit of the doubt, joking that it happens to everyone.
In case you missed it, Musk saluted the crowd at the end of his speech on Monday by putting his right hand to his chest and then forcefully — to the point of grunting with exertion — extending his arm straight out, palm down, fingers straight.
The moment immediately went viral, given how closely it resembles the salute that Nazis would use with Adolf Hitler at rallies.
“I don’t know why everybody is complaining,” Meyers joked on Wednesday night. “He was just grabbing his heart and violently throwing it out to the crowd in that classic gesture that has no dark historical overtones.”
Before jumping to any judgements though, Meyers took a look at those defending Musk, including the Anti-Defamation League, who encouraged people to give the billionaire — who has a history of making Nazi jokes on social media and previously promoted a widely condemned interview with a Nazi apologist — the benefit of the doubt.
“It does help answer the question, ‘What do you get for the man who has everything?’ The benefit of the doubt!” Meyers said. “So I’m going to take that advice. I mean, who among us hasn’t sieged when we were trying to zag?”
Yes, the punchline was a play on the words “Sieg Heil,” the ones typically said when doing the Nazi salute. Even Meyers himself gave the joke grief.
You can watch Seth Meyers’ full “A Closer Look” segment in the video, above.
