A CBS meteorologist in Milwaukee has cut ties with the station after he criticized Elon Musk’s controversial hand gesture during President Donald Trump’s inauguration, which he called a “Nazi salute.”
CBS 58 confirmed Wednesday that meteorologist Sam Kuefel is “no longer with the station” but declined to comment further on the matter. However, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that a memo was sent to staff a day after conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell criticized Kuefel’s comments about Musk’s gesture.
O’Donnell, an outspoken conservative, posted a series of screenshots from Kuefel’s personal Instagram account, where he made his comments about Musk’s behavior at the inauguration. “Sam Kuefel posted two obscene Instagrams spreading lies about Elon Musk giving a Nazi salute during the presidential inauguration yesterday,” O’Donnell wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
In one post, Kuefel shared a photo of Musk just before the gesture and wrote: “Dude gave the Nazi salute twice. Twice. During the inauguration. You fuck with this and this guy, I don’t fuck with you. Full stop.”
While Kuefel’s Instagram account was private, his bio was publicly visible and stated that the account “was never a public account.”
O’Donnell and other conservative voices immediately rallied behind Musk, rejecting the accusation that the gesture resembled a Nazi salute. They argued that Musk was simply sending the heart gesture to the crowd. Regardless of intent, Musk’s actions have been embraced by far-right figures and white nationalist groups.
The White Lives Matter group, a white nationalist organization, responded to the moment on Telegram, writing: “Thank you for (sometimes) listening to us, Elon. The White Flame will rise again.”
