Meteorologist Fired for Calling Musk's Gesture a 'Nazi Salute'

A Milwaukee TV station has fired a meteorologist who accused Elon Musk of making a Nazi salute at the inauguration. "Dude Nazi saluted twice. TWICE," WDJT-TV weather forecaster Sam Kuffel wrote on her Instagram account Tuesday alongside a picture of Musk, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "You (expletive) with this and this man, I don't (expletive) with you. Full stop," she added. She also posted a GIF that seemed to call Musk "a Nazi." The posts drew the attention of conservative radio host Dan O'Donnell, who said Kuffel was "spreading the lie that Elon Musk was giving a Nazi salute." There's been some debate about what Musk intended.

Kuffel's Instagram account turned private late Tuesday. The following day, WDJT news director Jessie Garcia sent a memo to staffers, informing them "Sam Kuffel is no longer employed at CBS58," per the Journal Sentinel. Kuffel had been with the channel for more than five years, according to her LinkedIn page. She also appeared regularly on the sports talk radio station WRNW-FM. Coincidentally, Kuffel had been quoted in a Tuesday CNN story about cuts at the Allen Media Group, resulting in local meteorologists losing their jobs at two dozen TV stations across the country as those stations turn to a feed from The Weather Channel. "Communities will suffer during major, local weather events because of this decision," Kuffel wrote on X.

Kuffel has since drawn many supporters on social media. Isaac Rowlett, a strategy director for Milwaukee County, said Kuffel was fired for "naming" Musk's salute and accused O'Donnell of "mobilizing trolls to harass her & call for her job." One user compared Musk's gesture to that of neo-Nazis and suggested Kuffel should sue. Another said the station had "capitulated to the Nazi oligarchs" by firing an employee for exercising "freedom of speech during her off hours." But others backed the move. Jeff Wagner, a retired radio talk show host, said it was "dumb" to publicly share personal opinions, "alienating a huge chunk of the audience." Some users had said they would stop watching WDJT if Kuffel wasn't fired. (More Elon Musk stories.)