Elon Musk Rages at Double Standard as Cory Booker Escapes Backlash for the Same Hand Gesture

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire known for his outspoken criticism of the press, has once again ignited controversy—this time not for his own actions, but for what he calls a glaring double standard in media coverage. Over the weekend, Musk took to his social media platform X to call out what he described as “legacy media lies,” after New Jersey Senator Cory Booker made a public gesture nearly identical to one Musk had previously been lambasted for.

The core of the storm lies in a simple gesture: placing a hand on the chest and then extending it forward. When Musk made this gesture during an Inauguration Day event earlier this year, the media response was swift, accusatory, and in many cases suggested he had performed a Nazi salute. Headlines questioned his intent, op-eds speculated about his ideology, and social media exploded in outrage, with many accusing the Tesla and SpaceX CEO of fascist sympathies.

However, when Booker made the same movement while addressing the California Democratic Convention this past Saturday, the reaction was starkly different—muted in coverage and absent of outrage.

Booker’s gesture was captured in multiple videos and swiftly circulated across platforms like X and TikTok, yet the media coverage was conspicuously absent. Users began comparing the two videos side-by-side, noting the similarity in form and intent. Musk responded by reposting one such comparison, slamming the news outlets involved. “Legacy media lies,” he declared, adding that these outlets “lie relentlessly” and “are one big psy op.”

Musk’s outrage wasn’t limited to a single post. In a cascade of reposts and original messages, he highlighted what he believes to be a coordinated media strategy to vilify certain figures while protecting others based on political alignment. “Fate loves irony, but hates hypocrisy,” Musk wrote in response to screenshots of conflicting coverage—one headline excoriating him, another defending Booker.

To bolster his case, Musk shared images of other prominent Democrats—including Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton—making similar gestures during speeches. The implication was clear: if Musk’s gesture was worthy of accusations of Nazism, why weren’t these political figures subjected to the same scrutiny?

The outrage was not limited to Musk alone. His reposts reflected a broader sentiment among many of his followers and right-leaning commentators who see a systemic media bias. One user stated, “If Elon Musk is a Nazi for doing this gesture… Cory Booker is one too. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

Another user sarcastically captioned a collage of Democrats making similar gestures with, “We know where Cory Booker learned his Nazi salute from.” Musk responded with an eyebrow-raising emoji, amplifying the post to his tens of millions of followers. The reaction from Booker’s team was swift and dismissive. “Anyone who claims his wave is the same as Elon Musk’s gesture is operating in bad faith,” said Booker’s spokesperson Maya Krishna-Rogers.

“The differences between the two are obvious to anyone without an agenda.” The statement described the senator’s movement as an innocent wave to the crowd, a gesture often used during speeches and public appearances.

But Musk, no stranger to media feuds, remains unconvinced. During a recent CNBC interview, he pointed to the legacy media’s handling of his earlier controversy as a textbook example of propaganda. “That I’m a Nazi, for example. And how many legacy media publications, talk shows, whatever, try to claim that I was a Nazi because of some random hand gesture at a rally where all I said was that my heart goes out to you,” Musk said.

“I was talking about space travel, and yet the legacy media promoted that as though that was a deliberate Nazi gesture.” According to Musk, the gesture in question—a hand to the chest and then outstretched toward the audience—is a common movement used by countless politicians, speakers, and public figures across the spectrum.

The issue, he believes, lies not in the gesture itself, but in the identity of the person performing it. In his view, the media has become a partisan machine, more interested in character assassination than in objectivity.

This is not Musk’s first entanglement with what he calls the “legacy media.” His transformation from Silicon Valley darling to right-wing firebrand has drawn scathing headlines and sustained scrutiny. Since his acquisition of Twitter (now X), and his embrace of free-speech absolutism, Musk has become a lightning rod for political controversy.

He has increasingly aligned himself with conservative and populist ideologies, even appearing at Trump-era events and engaging with MAGA influencers. The current firestorm has deepened the divide between Musk and the traditional press.

While Democrats and liberal commentators dismiss his claims as self-serving or conspiratorial, his supporters argue that the evidence is plain. When Musk made the gesture, he was accused of signaling extremism. When Booker did it, the media looked away. For many, it’s the hypocrisy, not the headline, that stings.

Musk’s critics, however, argue that context matters. Some claim that Musk’s own history of controversial tweets, flirtations with conspiracy theories, and increasing political rhetoric have colored the way his actions are interpreted. To them, Booker, a sitting senator known for civil rights activism, does not invite the same suspicions.

Yet this argument does little to address the optics of the situation, especially when filtered through the lens of fairness. Musk’s supporters argue that if gestures are to be scrutinized, they must be done so uniformly. Anything else, they say, validates Musk’s broader point—that media coverage is dictated more by politics than principle.

This latest incident taps into a deeper cultural fault line. In the age of viral media, gestures once considered innocuous can become flashpoints. The power of narrative, and who gets to control it, remains fiercely contested. Musk, with his platform and fanbase, has proven adept at seizing these moments and reframing them to his advantage.

Whether the public sees him as a victim of media bias or a master manipulator of controversy depends largely on where they fall politically. Still, the implications of this double standard go beyond one billionaire’s grievance. At stake is a broader question about the role of media in shaping public perception.

Can it be trusted to apply standards consistently? Or has it, as Musk suggests, become another instrument in a larger ideological battle?

For now, there is no sign that Musk plans to drop the issue. His campaign against what he calls “media psy ops” has only intensified, and this latest example may serve as a rallying point for those who believe the press has lost its way.

Whether or not the gesture meant anything, the fallout certainly does. And in the court of public opinion, where perception is reality, Elon Musk may have just won another round.