Trump Blasts Musk's New Political Party as ‘Ridiculous'

Time​ Magazine

17 hours ago

Donald Trump fell in love with Elon Musk when the richest man in the world bankrolled his reelection campaign. Then he fell out of love with Musk when the tech titan openly criticized his 'Big Beautiful Bill.' The two briefly seemed like they might be able to coexist amicably, but that quickly changed last week when Musk reignited his criticisms of the President's massive tax-and-spending legislative package that was streamrolled through Congress and which is expected to add trillions to the national debt.
Musk promised to campaign against Republicans who voted for the bill, and Trump pondered whether to deport the South Africa-born billionaire.
Read More: Can Trump Deport U.S. Citizens Like Elon Musk and Zohran Mamdani?
But after Musk announced over the weekend the formation of his planned third political party, the 'America Party,' Trump seemed to feel less love or hate than pity.
'I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,' Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.
Trump told reporters earlier, 'I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked.' He added of Musk: 'He can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous.'
On Truth Social, Trump expanded on his political analysis about third parties, writing: 'They have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them. The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running 'machine,' that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country.'
While most Americans seem to disagree with Trump that the Republican Party is running the country smoothly, experts agree that the American political system is not designed for third parties to succeed. Challenges include institutional barriers, such as ballot access, as well as political and financial barriers, though the latter should be of no problem to Musk.
Musk has suggested in posts on X that his party will aim to elect lawmakers in the 2026 midterms who will 'caucus independently' in Congress. 'One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts. Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people,' he posted. 'Backing a candidate for president is not out of the question, but the focus for the next 12 months is on the House and the Senate,' he added later.
In response to Trump, Musk mocked, 'What's Truth Social?'—referring to the platform Trump started in 2021 as an alternative to what was then known as Twitter (now X), which Musk bought in 2022. Musk also suggested that Trump is scared, invoking a line from Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel Dune: 'Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total Obliteration.'
Trump, despite telling TIME in December that 'Elon puts the country long before his company' and insisting that Musk had the credibility to lead the Department of Government Efficiency amid concerns about conflicts of interest, continued to insist that Musk's opposition to the 'Big Beautiful Bill' is self-interested.
'It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning. People are now allowed to buy whatever they want - Gasoline Powered, Hybrids (which are doing very well), or New Technologies as they come about - No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate - It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that - I was very surprised!'
While there has never been a federal mandate to buy electric vehicles, Trump's bill does eliminate federal tax incentives for electric-vehicle owners, which is expected to hurt Musk's company Tesla.
Musk insists that his main issue is with the deficit. 'What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he's just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??' he posted Sunday. The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates that the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' as written will add more than $4 trillion to the national debt through 2034, and if various temporary provisions are made permanent, that figure would rise to $5.5 trillion.
Column: The Budget Bill's Big Consequences
Trump also aimed to contrast his own allegiance to the nation with Musk's supposed self interest—and responsibilities to the companies he runs, including Tesla and SpaceX—by referencing, not by name, Jared Isaacman, a Musk associate whom Trump nominated to head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration before withdrawing the nomination after his breakup with Musk.
'Additionally, Elon asked that one of his close friends run NASA and, while I thought his friend was very good, I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before. Elon probably was, also. I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life,' Trump ended his Truth Social rant. 'My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!'