Lefty Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was dragged on X for “jewsplaining” to the American Defamation League after the group defended Elon Musk’s “awkward gesture” that progressives decried was a Nazi salute.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused the antisemitism watchdog group of “defending a Heil Hitler salute” before arguing that the ADL “works for” Trump and his allies.
“Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to the ADL on X.
“People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all,” she added.
Footage of Musk thanking supporters of President Trump took off Monday, with many questioning whether the tech mogul did a fascist salute after he placed his right hand over his heart and extended his arm in the air.
The ADL took to X in Musk’s defense, writing, “It seems that [Musk] made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” and argued people on both sides of the aisle shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
Many social media users quickly took offense to AOC’s response, calling out the Bronx and Queens’ rep for trying to explain antisemitism to the watchdog group, with one commentator noting: “We now have AOC jewsplaining to the ADL.”
Another X user chimed in: “AOC trying to Jewsplain to the ADL why they are antisemitic. She’s officially lost her mind.”
Some users used the moment to drag Ocasio-Cortez, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel and previously accused the country of committing “genocide” against the Palestinian people.
“If, like @ADL, you fight antisemitism every day, I’m ready to respectfully hear your opinion on what Elon Musk intended. THAT’S NOT WHAT @AOC IS DOING. This is a cynical political game for her. She supports antisemites. She’s scoring cheap points against the ADL because they support the rights of ALL Jews including Israeli Jews,” one person wrote.
Others took offense to Ocasio-Cortez going against one of the most prominent American Jewish civil rights organizations in the US just because it didn’t fit her agenda.
“Just to be clear, AOC is trying to delegitimize the preeminent American Jewish civil rights organization here after spending the last 15 months defending those guilty of the very ideology the ADL was founded to combat,” one commentator argued.
“The ADL gave a good sound statement and AOC just went for its neck because it didn’t align with her politics. The U.S. political debate is already off the rails and it’s not even day one. If AOC wants to blame someone for encouraging antisemitism she should look at the mirror,” another person added.
Meanwhile, Musk defended the one-armed gesture he gave during President Trump’s inauguration — arguing the left-wingers who accused him of giving a Nazi salute “need better dirty tricks.”
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk wrote on X.
Musk later thanked the ADL for coming to his defense, writing, “Thanks guys,” along with a crying laughing face emoji.
