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'They basically want to kill me': GOP efforts to turn Musk into a MAGA martyr are backfiring

No one has yearned to call himself a victim of "cancel culture" more than Elon Musk. In one sense, he's succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, becoming a favorite villain of the left, the target of non-stop scorn and mockery. But he keeps failing at the second, equally crucial aspect of becoming an icon for self-pitying fascists: selling himself as a MAGA martyr. Even by the low standards of people who love Donald Trump, Musk is too charmless, self-pitying, and privileged to make a compelling character in the endlessly idiotic drama of right-wing outrage at liberals who commit the high crime of not liking them.

Exhibit #1 of how Musk is bad at this: At a Trump victory rally in January, Musk showily threw two hand gestures that are physically and psychically indistinguishable from the infamous Nazi salute. This generates progressive outrage, which usually provokes a "how dare you call us racist just because we spread neo-Nazi conspiracy theories?!" response on the right. And sure, there were some moribund efforts to stand in solidarity with Musk, such as Steve Bannon also tossing off a stiff-armed salute at a MAGA conference. But Bannon cringed while he did it, and the result was that even the far-right in Europe inched away in embarrassment. Instead of a surge of