Bannon: It Was a 'Wave,' Not a Nazi Salute

About a month after Elon Musk was accused of making a Nazi salute during a speech, Steve Bannon has been accused of doing the same. The details:

• The moment: Bannon made the gesture near the end of a speech on Thursday to the Conservative Political Action Conference, reports the Guardian. "The only way that they win is we retreat, and we're not gonna retreat, we're not gonna surrender, we're not gonna quit—fight, fight, fight!" Bannon said, before extending his right arm. Watch it here.
• Denial: On Friday, Bannon denied the Nazi connotations. He said the gesture was "a wave" that he routinely does at the end of speeches to acknowledge the crowd, reports Semafor.

• Fallout: Bannon, not surprisingly, has since been taking plenty of heat from the left, reports Newsweek. The outlet also notes that some see the gesture as a "Roman salute," which critics dismiss as a meaningless distinction. "It's getting a little uncomfortable, even for me," said far-right commentator Nick Fuentes on his podcast. "Even I'm starting to feel like that guy in the picture that wouldn't hail Hitler."
• Notable rebuke: Bannon's move drew a notable rebuke from the leader of France's far-right RN party, who was scheduled to speak Friday at CPAC but canceled, per France24. "Yesterday, while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers out of provocation allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology," said Jordan Bardella. "I therefore took the immediate decision to cancel my speech that had been scheduled this afternoon."
• Bannon retorts: In response, Bannon said Bardella was "wetting himself like a little child" and wasn't ready to lead France because he was "a boy, not a man," per Semafor.

(More Steve Bannon stories.)