Published: January 23, 2025 12:09 pm
Author: RT
A Milwaukee CBS affiliate has reportedly dismissed a presenter after she criticized a gesture made by the Trump ally at a rally
A Milwaukee-based CBS affiliate has dismissed a weather presenter after she reportedly called Elon Musk a Nazi on social media. The confidant of US President Donald Trump has denied that he made a Nazi salute during an inauguration rally, dismissing the allegation as a “dirty trick” by his critics.
WDJT-TV (Channel 58), where meteorologist Sam Kuffel had worked since 2019, confirmed her departure but provided no official explanation in its internal memo or public comments, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The station described the matter as a “personal issue.” Kuffel was reportedly dismissed one day after commenting on Musk’s gesture on her Instagram account.
The TV channel has removed Kuffel’s bio from its website and no longer mentions her in its weather section, but retains articles written by her. Her Instagram account has been set to private, but screenshots purportedly capturing her posts are available online. She has not commented publicly on the incident.
Before her tenure at WDJT-TV, the journalist worked at WAOW-TV (Channel 9) in Wausau, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in atmospheric science.
Musk’s gesture, which he made during a speech at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC during Trump’s inauguration on Monday, has drawn criticism from some Democrats, who claimed it mimicked a Nazi salute. He rejected this characterization and said his accusers should find better ways to attack their opponents than calling “everyone Hitler.”
The Anti-Defamation League, a US-based pro-Israeli group which monitors anti-Semitism and hate speech, has described Musk’s gesture as “awkward” but did not say it was a Nazi salute.
