Far-right French leader Jordan Bardella canceled his prepared speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington following Donald Trump’s former top adviser, Steve Bannon, making a Nazi salute on stage.

On Thursday evening, Bannon delivered his speech at the CPAC, rallying the crowd by yelling “The only way they win is if we retreat.” He continued, “And we’re not going to retreat. We’re not going to surrender. We’re not going to quit. Fight, fight, fight,” extending his arm in a salute also used by the Nazis

Bardella, 29, who was already in Washington at the time, had been planning to speak at the conference on Friday. However, upon news of Bannon’s salute, he issued a statement declaring he had canceled his speech.

In his statement, he shared, “I had been invited to make a speech on the links between the United States and France, as well as the recent electoral dynamic of patriot parties in Europe. Yesterday, while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers out of provocation allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology. I therefore took the immediate decision to cancel my speech that had been scheduled this afternoon.”

Bannon denied the salute, calling the gesture a wave, a claim akin to Elon Musk’s response to the same controversial salute he made upon Trump’s inauguration in January.

He insisted to NBC News that the public fixation on the gesture was merely being used as a distraction from his speech. “I do that all the time. I wave to my crowd because it’s all about them…The only thing it’s done is made the speech even bigger.”

He added, “But the guy in France, you need to be combat-hard. He’s just a p—y…MAGA will never support him. He’s a pretty boy.”

Bannon was Trump’s top advisor at the beginning of Trump’s first term in the White House, before he was fired.

Last month, Bannon pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a scheme to defraud Trump voters.

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Article by Baila Eve Zisman

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