Just 24 hours after criticizing Elon Musk on social media for what some believed to be a Nazi salute, a Milwaukee weather presenter was fired from a local TV station. Musk’s own daughter had previously criticized him online.
During a gathering at Capital One Arena following President Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US President, the Tesla tycoon, who is currently in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, raised eyebrows by thumping his chest with his hand and lifting his arm. Internet users compared this gesture to a repulsive historical gesture.
On Wednesday, the staff at WDJT-TV (Channel 58) was informed that meteorologist Sam Kuffel was leaving the station. Her profile was quickly removed from the station’s website that same afternoon.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kuffel’s departure was verified by Jessie Garcia, the station’s news director, in an internal message that read: “Meteorologist Sam Kuffel is no longer employed at CBS58.” They were looking for a new meteorologist, Garcia added.
Kuffel emphasized her emotions in a another post by using a GIF from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” writing: “Screw that old b****.” He is a Nazi.
Dan O’Donnell, a conservative radio personality, criticized Kuffel on Tuesday for her “vulgar” Instagram posts, accusing her of “spreading the lie that Musk was giving a Nazi salute” after Trump’s inauguration.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2016, the popular weather presenter had worked at WAOW-TV in Wausau before joining the station more than five years ago, according to the express.
ADL, a group established in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” according to their website, stepped in to defend Musk after the online uproar over his gesture and its significance.
“This is a delicate moment,” ADL said in a statement posted on X. Even though it’s a fresh day, a lot of people are tense. Social media just makes our already tense politics worse.
Musk “made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” they explained. “All sides” should give each other “a little grace, maybe even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath,” the group urged.
“This marks a fresh start. In the upcoming months and years, let’s pray for healing and strive for unity,” they said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, defended Musk on X during the dispute, saying that he “is being falsely smeared.”
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“Elon is a great friend of Israel,” stated Netanyahu. Following the October 7 massacre, in which Hamas terrorists carried out the deadliest crime against Jews since the Holocaust, he traveled to Israel. Since then, he has steadfastly and consistently defended Israel’s right to self-defense against genocidal terrorists and governments that aim to destroy the sole Jewish state. For this, I am grateful to him.
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