COMMENTARY

Legacy Media Be Damned: Here’s What Musk Actually Said to Germans

Craig Bannister | January 28, 2025
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Leftist U.S. media are maliciously misrepresenting billionaire Free Speech Advocate Elon Musk’s opening statement to a German AfD party campaign event on Saturday.

Legacy leftist media were quick to pounce on Musk’s virtually-delivered statement to the audience at the event, running stories with headlines such as:

 

But, contrary to the leftist, legacy media insinuations, Musk did not say Germany should abandon past guilt – he said Germany is putting “too much” focus on it.

Essentially, Musk made eight major points in his opening statement:

  1. Take pride in, and preserve, Germany’s unique culture and values.
  2. It’s good to have several unique cultures in the world.
  3. Germany’s history goes back thousands of years.
  4. There’s “too much” focus on guilt about the bad in Germany’s past – and not enough on Germany’s future.
  5. People are not guilty of the misdeeds of their ancestors.
  6. Be optimistic about Germany’s future.
  7. Promote German self-determination and reduce bureaucracy and the control of global elites.
  8. The German people should unite and strongly support the AfD party in the upcoming election.

 

In later remarks, Musk said the upcoming election in Germany is extremely important, because it could determine the fate of Europe and, potentially, the world:

  • “I do not say it lightly when I think the future of civilization could hang on this election.”
  • “So, I think this election coming up in Germany is incredibly important. I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe and, maybe, the fate of the world. That is the significance of this election.”
  • “The fate of the world, I think, rests upon this election in Germany. It’s extremely fundamental.”

 

Musk also condemned the German government’s censorship efforts and stressed the importance of free speech:

“The current government is suppressing speech very aggressively.

“And really, when you suppress freedom of speech, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to have a true democracy, because freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy. People cannot be expected to vote in an informed manner if they are not able to know the truth.

“So, this is why it’s so important to have freedom of speech, so people can make an informed vote and there can be a true democracy.

“But, this is not what the current government has been doing. They have been suppressing freedom of speech and putting people in jail for even mild criticisms of politicians or social media posts.

“This is crazy. This is, frankly, a totalitarian approach. It is not a democratic approach. So, we need to restore freedom to the people of Germany and have freedom of speech and less government oppression, in general.

“So anyway, I cannot emphasize enough: do everything you can, full blast, put every effort you can into this election. The fate of the world, I think, rests upon this election in Germany. It’s extremely fundamental.”

Musk’s full opening statement at Saturday’s event is transcribed and presented verbatim below, with eight topic headers added:

Take pride in, and preserve, Germany’s unique culture and values.

“Well, first of all, I would like to really say that I am very excited for the AfD and I think you are really the best hope for Germany.

“I think that some things that, something that is just very important is that people take pride in Germany and being German. This is very important. It’s, you know, it’s okay to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle. And, it’s okay, it’s good, to be proud of German culture, of German values and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.”

It’s good to have several unique cultures in the world.

“You know there is, I think we want to have unique cultures in the world. We want to have people that have people that have, we don’t need everything to be the same everywhere - where it’s just one big sort of soup.

“We want to have something where it’s, you go to different countries and you experience a different culture and it is unique and special and good – and that the German government takes actions to protect its citizens and make sure that it seeks the health and well-being of the German people.”

Germany’s history goes back thousands of years.

“And I am, you know, I mean, the German people are really an ancient nation; it goes back thousands of years, as even, we should read Julius Caesar’s account of first encountering the German tribes in the Gaul campaigns and he was like, ‘Whoa, very impressive, these are very powerful warriors.’”

There’s “too much” focus on guilt about the bad in Germany’s past – and not enough on Germany’s future.

“So, like, I think there’s like, frankly, too much of a focus on past guilt and we need to move beyond that.”

People are not guilty of the misdeeds of their ancestors.

“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, or even, let alone their parents, their great grandparents maybe even.”

Be optimistic about Germany’s future.

“And we should be optimistic and excited about the future for Germany – and that’s really my message: be optimistic, excited and preserve German culture and protect the German people.”

Promote German self-determination and reduce bureaucracy and the control of global elites.

“And, there are some other things that I think would be very helpful, too. Which is, you want more self-determination for Germany and for the countries in Europe – and less from Brussels. That’s my opinion. I think there’s too much bureaucracy from Brussels, too much control from sort of global elite.

“And, you know, when I’ve given talks at these sort of global government conferences, what I’ve said is: there should be less global government, there should be more determination by individual countries.”

The German people should unite and strongly support AfD party in the upcoming election.

“And so, I very much hope that the AfD does well and that Alice Weidel does become chancellor. I think that would be very good for Germany. And I think it’s very important, I hope the German people unite and strongly support AfD. Go! So, you are doing the right thing is what I’m saying.”

 

 

Editor’s Note: The leftist, legacy media’s dishonest attacks on Musk are nothing new, given his support of free speech and, especially, now that Musk is heading President Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Last week, leftist media claimed that a hand gesture made by Musk at an inauguration rally for Donald Trump was evocative of a Nazi salute – a claim refuted by both the liberal Anti-Defamation League (ADF) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Additionally, social media platforms have since been flooded with photos of prominent Democrat politicians making similar gestures, noting that media have ignored these.