Jordan Bardella Cancels CPAC Speech Following Steve Bannon's Controversial Gesture

The Rassemblement National leader withdrew from the Washington event after Bannon's gesture was widely interpreted as a Nazi salute.

Jordan Bardella, president of France's Rassemblement National, canceled his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, citing a provocative gesture by Steve Bannon referencing Nazi ideology.
Steve Bannon, former adviser to Donald Trump, made the gesture during his speech at CPAC, drawing comparisons to a Nazi salute and sparking widespread criticism.
Bannon dismissed the backlash, calling Bardella's withdrawal a sign of weakness and stating that it showed he was not fit to lead France.
Bardella's decision to cancel his appearance underscores tensions between European far-right leaders and their American counterparts over the optics and rhetoric of extremism.
The incident follows similar controversies, including Elon Musk being accused of making a comparable gesture at a previous event, further fueling debates over the normalization of extremist symbols in conservative spaces.