A photo of Zohran Mamdani began circulating on conservative social media within hours of his inauguration as New York City’s mayor.
In the image, Mamdani stands on stage, arm extended toward the crowd. It’s a wave. But to some, the gesture looked familiar.
The comparison spread quickly. Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty shared a side-by-side clip juxtaposing Mamdani’s wave with Elon Musk’s arm gesture from a Trump inauguration rally a year earlier — a moment that had sparked headlines questioning whether Musk’s gesture resembled a Nazi salute. “When Elon does it, it’s a ‘Nazi salute,’” Daugherty wrote. “When Zohran does it, the media is silent.” The post circulated widely, amplifying claims of a media double standard.
Others framed the contrast more bluntly. Conservative commentator Katie Miller shared the clip of Mamdani’s wave with the caption: “The left are hypocrites. Here is the proof.”
The post circulated widely, reinforcing the argument that similar gestures are interpreted differently depending on who makes them.
At the time, outlets such as CNN, The Guardian, Vox, and The Washington Post ran stories examining the moment. Some questioned the gesture itself. Others focused on the backlash and debate surrounding it. In many cases, the coverage became part of the controversy.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Musk’s gesture a “Heil Hitler salute.” The Anti-Defamation League pushed back, defending Musk and describing it as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm.”
One year later, Mamdani’s wave drew no such scrutiny.
The contrast didn’t go unnoticed.
For conservatives, the point isn’t about defending Musk’s gesture—it’s about exposing what they see as a media double standard. When a billionaire aligned with Trump raised his arm, it triggered wall-to-wall coverage and accusations of fascism. When a democratic socialist did the same thing at his own inauguration, the silence was deafening. The gesture didn’t change. The politics of the person making it did.
Musk himself weighed in with two words: “They lie.”
Libs of TikTok posted side-by-side screenshots of legacy media headlines from January 2025, writing: “Not a single one of these legacy media outlets reported on Mamdani’s identical hand gesture which they called @elonmusk a nazi for. Do you see what’s happening?”
Others pushed back against the comparison. Context matters, they argued. Musk had spent the previous year amplifying right-wing accounts, endorsing Donald Trump, and engaging with figures on the European far right. A wave from Mamdani—a democratic socialist at his own inauguration—does not carry the same political or cultural weight.
But critics countered with a different question: if the gesture itself wasn’t the issue, why did it become one at all?
By Friday, Mamdani’s press account felt compelled to respond. “In no way was this a Nazi salute,” the statement read—a clarification that only fueled further comparisons and debate.
Whether the two moments are truly comparable depends on how much weight one gives to context, intent, and political alignment. But for conservatives, the comparison is already made—and the next time someone on the left raises their arm at a rally, they’ll have the receipts ready.
