A CBS meteorologist has been fired after she shared controversial Instagram posts accusing Elon Musk of doing a ‘Nazi salute’ at Donald Trump’s inauguration parade.
Sam Kuffel, 31, was iced out after she slammed the world’s richest man over the awkward arm gesture he made to crowds at the Capital One Arena this week.
‘Meteorologist Sam Kuffel is no longer employed at CBS 58,’ read a staff memo from news director Jessie Garcia, obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ‘A search for a replacement is underway.’ DailyMail.com has contacted CBS for comment.
Musk, 53, was seen placing his hand over his heart before shooting his arm out in a rigid position towards thousands of spectators in the Washington DC arena after Trump was sworn in as the 47th US President on Monday.
Kuffel shared footage of the movement in a Tuesday Instagram story posted on her personal account, which is now private. It’s unclear whether it was public at the time.
‘Dude Nazi saluted twice. TWICE. During the inauguration,’ Kuffel captioned the video. ‘You f*** with this and this man, I don’t f*** with you. Full stop,’ she added.
The weather forecaster also shared a fiery meme of a character from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia saying ‘screw that old b****. He’s a Nazi.’
Conservative talk show host Dan O’Donnell blasted Kuffel for the posts while sharing screenshots of her story via Musk-owned social media platform X on Tuesday.
CBS meteorologist Sam Kuffel (pictured) has been fired after she made controversial Instagram posts accusing Elon Musk of doing a ‘Nazi salute’ at Donald Trump ‘s inauguration parade, sparking a conservative backlash online
Kuffel shared footage of Musk, 53, in a Tuesday Instagram story posted on her personal account, which is now private. It’s unclear whether it was public at the time
In a move which sparked controversy online, Elon Musk, 53, was seen placing his hand over his heart before shooting his arm out in a rigid position towards thousands of spectators
He accused Kuffel of making ‘a pair of vulgar Instagram posts while spreading the lie that Elon Musk was giving a Nazi salute’ during Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
Kuffel had been working as a meteorologist at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin CBS station for just over five years, according to her LinkedIn account.
CBS meteorologist Sam Kuffel has been fired after claiming Elon Musk did a ‘Nazi salute’
Before that, she had the same role at ABC affiliate WAOW in Wasau, Wisconsin for three years and six months, per the page.
Musk’s controversial salute sparked a liberal backlash online, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called him out during an X spat with Republican Rep. Mike Collins.
Conservative critics hit back, sharing videos of Ocasio-Cortez, 35, making similar arm movements while giving speeches in the past.
The online rage spiraled to such an extent that even Musk’s ex-girlfriend Grimes felt compelled to weigh in.
Real name Claire Boucher, the 36-year-old singer wrote on X that she is ‘happy to denounce Nazism and the far alt-right’ after being pestered by fans to respond.
‘Would that help clear things up?’ she added, in response to a fan telling her ‘it would do a lot of good to clarify your stance right now.’
Kuffel had been working as a meteorologist at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin CBS station for more than five years, according to her LinkedIn page. Before that she worked at a local ABC station
Musk quickly denied that his salute was in any way a tribute to Nazism, saying his opponents needed ‘better dirty tricks’ and that ‘the “everyone is Hitler” attack is so tired’.
The billionaire also mocked Democrats by sharing pictures of leaders including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton making similar arm movements in years past.
He was also defended by antisemitism watchdog Anti-Defamation League, which described the controversy as ‘an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.’
Musk doubled down on his defense on Thursday with a bizarre X post invoking names of high-ranking World War II-era Nazi Germany politicians and officials.
He made jokes using the names of Adolf Hitler’s Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess; Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels; Reichstag President Hermann Göring; and Schutzstaffel (SS) Commander Heinrich Himmler.
The post also took a swipe at liberal politicians’ use of preferred pronouns in the shift towards accommodating for transgender or nonbinary individuals.
‘Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler!’ Musk wrote.
‘Bet you did nazi that coming,’ he added in the final pun.
