Americanswers! Did Elon Musk make a Nazi salute?
Americast
BBC
4.2 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 23 January 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After he declared that "America's sovereignty is under attack” in an executive order, reports suggest that Donald Trump could send thousands of troops to install barriers at the US border with Mexico. Are barriers the answer to stop illegal crossings?
President Trump has given his first broadcast interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. In the interview he described the attacks on January 6 as “very minor incidents” and suggested Joe Biden should have pardoned himself before leaving office. But why has Trump issued a pardon to the founder of an illegal online drug marketplace?
And, Elon Musk’s controversial arm gesture continues to divide opinions as to its meaning. Some have insisted it was a Nazi salute, while Musk has said the comparisons to Hitler were “tired” and “dirty tricks”.
Americanswers is back for a special Q&A at the end of a momentous week…
HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
This episode was made by George Dabby with Rufus Gray and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, AmeriCasters. There are more of you now with us than ever before, and we'd like to try to keep it that way. |
| 0:06.6 | So do subscribe and tell people if you're enjoying what you're hearing. Now, on with the episode. |
| 0:13.4 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:17.0 | Hello there. We are only about 70 hours into the Trump administration since he was sworn in at noon on Monday, Eastern Standard Time, and we've had a blizzard of announcements. He is certainly moving fast and breaking things, I think is the expression they use in Silicon Valley. There's a lot of news for us to wrap our heads around, isn't there, Anthony? Absolutely. Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive actions on things like |
| 0:42.9 | immigration, on reforming the federal bureaucracy, all of these pardons that he's released for |
| 0:50.0 | not only January 6th convicted felons and misdemeanors, but also for other people, |
| 0:57.6 | he is setting about really trying to move the ball quickly through his executive actions. |
| 1:03.4 | I know. I feel like every time I glance at my phone or catch sight of a television screen |
| 1:07.0 | in our BBC bureau, there's another announcement being made. Who knows what might happen |
| 1:10.6 | while we're recording this? |
| 1:12.9 | But in the meantime, we are going to take questions from our AmeriCasters, |
| 1:17.4 | who've got a lot to ask us about what's happened already. |
| 1:21.3 | Welcome to AmeriCast. |
| 1:25.2 | AmeriCast from BBC News |
| 1:27.9 | God spared my life for a reason |
| 1:31.0 | Only when it is dark enough |
| 1:33.9 | Can you see the stars |
| 1:35.6 | A star is born Elon |
| 1:37.3 | I'm not just MAGA |
| 1:38.6 | I'm dark Gothic MAGA |
| 1:41.2 | This is what happens when the machine |
| 1:43.4 | comes after you I'm terrified for this country and I'm so hurt that America let this happen. |
... |
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