Elon Musk to form new political party after fallout with Donald Trump
Making the announcement on X, he said he would be forming the America Party in response to Trump's sweeping tax cuts law.
Musk, the former ever-present ally of Trump, who headed up the Department of Government Efficiency, broke with the President over his signature legislation, which was signed into law on Friday. Elon Musk. / Credit: AP
As the bill made its way through Congress, Musk threatened to form the 'America Party' if 'this insane spending bill passes.'
'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,' Musk said Saturday on X, the social media company he owns.
'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' Trump. / Credit: AP
The formation of new political parties is not uncommon, but they typically struggle to pull any significant support away from the Republican and Democratic parties.
But Musk, the world's richest man, who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 election, could impact the 2026 elections, determining control of Congress if he is willing to spend significant amounts of money.
His reignited feud with the president could also be costly for Musk, whose businesses rely on billions of dollars in government contracts and the publicly traded company Tesla has taken a hit in the market.
It wasn't clear whether Musk had taken steps to formally create the new political party. Spokespeople for Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, didn't immediately comment on Sunday.
As of Sunday morning, there were multiple political parties listed in the Federal Election Commission database that had been formed in the the hours since Musk's Saturday X post with versions of 'America Party' of 'DOGE' or 'X' in the name, or Musk listed among people affiliated with the entity.
But none appeared to be authentic, listing contacts for the organisation as email addresses such as ' wentsnowboarding@yahoo.com ″ or untraceable Protonmail addresses.
Musk on Sunday spent the morning on X taking feedback from users about the party and indicated he'd use the party to get involved in the 2026 midterm elections.
Last month, he threatened to try to oust every member of Congress who voted for Trump's bill. Musk had called the tax breaks and spending cuts package a 'disgusting abomination,' warning it would increase the federal deficit, among other critiques.
'The Republican Party has a clean sweep of the executive, legislative and judicial branches and STILL had the nerve to massively increase the size of government, expanding the national debt by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS,' Musk said Sunday on X.
His critiques of the bill and move to form a political party mark a reversal from May, when his time in the White House was winding down and the head of rocket company SpaceX and electric vehicle maker Tesla said he would spend 'a lot less' on politics in the future.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who clashed with Musk while he ran DOGE, said on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday that DOGE's 'principles' were popular, but 'if you look at the polling, Elon was not.'
'I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities,' he said.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Houston mayoral appointee melts down over 'whites-only' Camp Mystic while blaming Trump for 'extremely preventable' flood tragedy
A Houston mayoral appointee went ballistic by criticizing a Texas camp site where seven little girls perished in floodwaters - then blaming President Donald Trump for the tragedy. In a series of cruel videos, Sade Perkins vented her frustrations against the 'whites only Christian camp' hours after a heavy deluge ripped through Camp Mystic in Hunt on the Fourth of July. 'I know I'm going to get cancelled for this, but Camp Mystic is a white-only girls' Christian camp,' she raged on TikTok as at least nine girls were still missing. 'They don't even have a token Asian. They don't have a token Black person. It's an all-white, white-only conservative Christian camp.' Perkins was admonished by Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who said he would take steps to remove her from the board. However, she doubled down by blaming Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for the tragedy, describing it as 'totally preventable.' She complained she had become 'the scapegoat to cover up for the f***up of a flood', instead arguing the 'reason' for the natural disaster was 'of course your friendly MAGA Trump up there in the White House.' 'I did not cause the flood, nor did I cause the failure from the National Weather Service and FEMA. Those were done by design, by the Lieutenant, and by the Governor, and your f***ing President,' she said. Perkins was admonished by Mayor Whitmire, who issued a statement apologizing for the horrifying comments as the death toll rose to 82, including 23 children and seven girls from the summer camp. Sade Perkins vented her frustrations against the 'whites only Christian camp' hours after a heavy deluge ripped through Camp Mystic in Hunt on the Fourth of July 'The comments shared on social media are deeply inappropriate and have no place in decent society, especially as families grieve the confirmed deaths and the ongoing search for the missing,' Whitmire said. 'The individual who made these statements is not a City of Houston employee. She was appointed to the City's Food Insecurity Board by former Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2024, and her term expired in January 2025.' Whitmire said steps were being taken immediately 'to remove her permanently from the board' and vowed he 'has no plans to reappoint her.' But Perkins had no regrets after being publicly scolded by the mayor on Sunday, instead doubling down on her extraordinary attack on the camp. 'You people are f**king crazy, you people are insane,' she said of her critics. 'And the video is still up and I still stand behind - 10 toes down on the motherf***ing ground. 'That s**t is racism and white supremacy, period. 'If it was Hispanic kids, if it was LGBTQ kids that got swept away y'all wouldnt give a f**k and them same MAGA people would be saying they deserve it and that it's God's will, so f**k all y'all.' Addressing Mayor Whitmire's comments head-on, Perkins said: 'Mayor Whitmire is a piece of s**t.' Her extraordinary comments come as Nim Kidd, Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, advised Kerr County to brace for more of the deadly rains as a 'wall of water' is set to descend upon the flood ravaged region. Locals in central Texas are being urged to scramble to higher ground following further flash flood warnings as a result of further rain falling on saturated ground. Camp Mystic director Richard 'Dick' Eastland, 70, was among the casualties. He died while trying to rescue campers from the biblical rushing waters as they struck his grounds. Renee Smajstrla, eight, Janie Hunt, nine, and Alabama native Sarah Marsh, 8, all perished when the camp was washed away by the flood waters. Best friends Lila Bonner, 9, and Eloise Peck, 8, were also killed in the devastating flooding. The bodies of Anna Margaret Bellows, 8, Lainey Landry, 9, and camp counselor Chloe Childress were recovered on Sunday evening. At least nine girls remain missing after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday. The camp director's wife, Tweety, was found safe at their home. The Eastlands have owned and operated Camp Mystic since 1974, and many viewed him as a father figure at the camp. Search and rescue workers dig through debris looking for any survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding 'It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers,' The Kerrville Daily Times guest columnist Paige Sumner said in a tribute to Eastland. Governor Abbott said the banks of the Guadalupe River, where some 750 girls had been staying when the floodwaters hit, had been 'horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster.' 'The height the rushing water reached to the top of the cabins was shocking,' he said on X after visiting the camp on Saturday. Photos show the summer camp was destroyed after the deadly floodwaters wrecked the grounds. Windows in the cabins were shattered and the interiors were completely covered in mud, with campers belongings in disarray. Camp Mystic was due to celebrate its hundredth year, and has a long and illustrious history as the camp of choice for well-off families in Texas. The daughter of multiple governors and former First Lady Laura Bush are just some of the alumni. Nine-year-old Janie Hunt, who perished in the floods, was the great-granddaughter of late billionaire William Herbert Hunt, whose brother was the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sky News
3 hours ago
- Sky News
Q&A: Trump's UK state visit, Iran's nuclear facilities and Putin's phone calls
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 Mark Stone and David Blevins answer your listener questions. They talk about everything from Trump's scheduled state visit to the UK, to Iran's nuclear facilities, to Putin's phone calls. If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@ You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Gold falls on trade deal progress, tariff reprieve extension
July 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices dropped on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump signalled progress on multiple trade agreements and announced extended tariff reprieves for several countries, dampening demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold fell 0.6% to $3,314.21 per ounce by 0232 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.6% to $3,322. The U.S. is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates scheduled to take effect on Aug. 1. Trump announced in April a 10% base tariff on most countries, with additional duties of up to 50%. He later postponed the effective date for all but 10% of those tariffs until July 9. The new date grants a three-week reprieve to most affected nations. "This short-term reprieve (by the U.S.) is causing this intraday weakness in the gold price right now," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said. "What I foresee will be another round of so-called trophy price movement at around the $3,320 level, then we have the top side coming in at $3,360, short-term resistance." Concerns of tariff-driven inflation have led to expectations of slower rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Rate futures show traders no longer expect a Fed rate cut this month and are pricing in a total of just two quarter-point reductions by the year-end. USDIRPR/ Last week, Trump signed into law a massive package of tax and spending cuts at the White House, which as per nonpartisan analysis will add more than $3 trillion to the country's $36.2 trillion debt. Spot silver fell 0.8% to $36.81 per ounce, platinum shed 0.8% to $1,380.55 and palladium lost 1% at $1,123.31.
