Elon Musk has threatened to sue after former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., used a recent TV appearance on CNN to call President Donald Trump’s top adviser a “Nazi” and a “thief.”
“I’ve had enough. Lawsuit inbound,” Musk wrote on X on Friday, replying to a clip of Bowman’s recent round table discussion on CNN.
Bowman, who was defeated in last July’s Democratic primary by a centrist pro-Israel candidate, told a panel of commentators that the “American people do not trust Elon Musk and Elon Musk is incompetent in his position.”
“How do we know? Because they fired tens of thousands of people, was challenged in court. The court said the people have to go back, and now the people are coming back,” Bowman told CNN.
“He’s incompetent. He’s a thief. He’s a Nazi. And people don’t trust him,” Bowman claimed of Musk.
Left-wing media accused Musk of doing a “Nazi salute” when the tech billionaire addressed a crowd on Trump’s Inauguration Day.
His mother, Maye Musk, called on her son to sue CNN and other outlets for peddling the “Nazi salute” narrative.
Other Democrats have lauded fascist claims against Musk, including Bowman’s former fellow “Squad” member, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who said last month Musk was a “Nazi nepo baby.”
Bowman, a former member of the progressive, left-wing “Squad” of Democrats of color in the House of Representatives, was defeated by George Latimer in July’s Democratic primary in New York’s 16th congressional district. Bowman, who accused Israel of “genocide” during its war against Hamas terrorists, claimed that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the deep-pocketed pro-Israel group, spent millions to “brainwash” voters against him.
The House notably censured Bowman in 2023 for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol to interrupt government shutdown negotiations.
Those who supported Musk’s potential legal action included conservative journalist Andy Ngo, who notably garnered recognition after being assaulted by Antifa rioters in Portland, Oregon, in 2019.
“Accusing people of crimes is not protected opinion. CNN is putting itself at risk of liability for bringing on guests who repeat potentially defamatory claims unchallenged,” Ngo wrote.
“Sue him! Defamation against conservatives can’t go unaddressed or it will never end,” Rep. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote from his personal X account.
“Fight back!” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also wrote.
