In a surprising turn of events, white nationalist provocateur Nick Fuentes seemed taken aback by Steve Bannon’s shocking use of the “Roman salute” at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday.
“This was some sick s--t,” declared the 26-year-old far-right pundit. Fuentes’ remarks were in response to Bannon saying he thinks President Donald Trump should run for office again in 2028. “We want Trump in ’28,” Bannon chanted.
Bannon’s remarks were followed by an alleged “Sieg Heil” during his speech at the event, which was held at the National Harbor near the nation’s capital.
Bannon is an influential far-right media figure and political strategist for the MAGA movement. He was Trump’s senior counselor and chief White House strategist in 2017, during his first term in office.
The gesture shook CPAC. France’s far-right leader Jordan Bardella canceled his speech at the convention because of what he described as Bannon’s “gesture referring to Nazi ideology.”
“It’s getting a little uncomfortable even for me,” added Fuentes. “Even I’m starting to feel like that guy in the picture who wouldn’t Heil Hitler.”
Fuentes was all too aware of the irony in his discomfort, noting how he used to write policy papers “based on Hitler’s policies” for “Supreme Leader Kanye West.”
West made pro-Nazi, antisemitic, and misogynistic comments on X earlier this month. The tirade was part of the rapper’s long pattern of prejudiced language.
Bannon’s “Roman salute,” as Fuentes called it, was very similar to a gesture made by billionaire Elon Musk during a speech in January. The gesture went viral and outraged many because of its similarity to the salute Nazis gave to Adolf Hitler.
Musk denied the gesture was a Nazi salute. He then made Nazi-themed jokes on X.
