A weather presenter from Milwaukee has been shown the door at a local TV channel, merely 24 hours after she called out Elon Musk – whose own daughter blasted him online – on social media over what some thought was a Nazi salute.
The Tesla mogul, who’s now in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, had raised eyebrows during a gathering at Capital One Arena after President Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US President by thumping his chest with his hand and hoisting his arm, drawing comparisons to a distasteful historical gesture from internet users.
The crew at WDJT-TV (Channel 58) received word on Wednesday that meteorologist Sam Kuffel was no longer part of their team, with her profile swiftly scrubbed from the station’s website that same afternoon.
Jessie Garcia, the station’s news director, confirmed Kuffel’s departure in an internal note, stating: “Meteorologist Sam Kuffel is no longer employed at CBS58,” as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Garcia also mentioned that they were hunting for a new meteorologist.
In another post, Kuffel used a GIF from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” to accentuate her feelings, writing: “Screw that old b****. He’s a Nazi.”
Conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell lambasted Kuffel for her “vulgar” Instagram posts on Tuesday, slamming her for “spreading the lie that Musk was giving a Nazi salute” following Trump’s Inauguration.
The well-liked weather presenter had been with the station for over five years and previously worked at WAOW-TV in Wausau after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2016, the express reports.
The online commotion regarding Musk’s gesture and its meaning prompted ADL, an organization founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” as stated on their website, to come to his defense.
In a statement released on X, ADL remarked: “This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.”
They clarified that Musk “made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge.” The organization called for “all sides” to offer each other ” a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath.”
“This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead,” they concluded.
In the midst of the controversy, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to X to support Musk, stating that he “is being falsely smeared.”
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Netanyahu said: “Elon is a great friend of Israel. He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. He has since repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel’s right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state. I thank him for this,”.
