Trump calls Elon Musk's formation of new party ‘ridiculous'
A day after Musk escalated his feud with Trump and announced the formation of a new US political party, the Republican president was asked about it before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, as he returned to Washington upon visiting his nearby golf club.
'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,' Trump told reporters.
4 President Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
AP
'It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous.'
Shortly after speaking about Musk, Trump posted further comments on his Truth Social platform, saying, 'I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.'
Musk announced on Saturday that he is establishing the 'America Party' in response to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which Musk said would bankrupt the country.
'What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he's just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??' Musk wrote on X on Sunday, referring to the government downsizing agency he briefly led. Critics have said the bill will damage the US economy by significantly adding to the federal budget deficit.
Musk said his new party would in next year's midterm elections look to unseat Republican lawmakers in Congress who backed the sweeping measure known as the 'big, beautiful bill.'
4 Musk announced on Saturday that he is establishing the 'America Party' in response to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which Musk said would bankrupt the country.
Elon Musk/X
Musk spent millions of dollars underwriting Trump's 2024 re-election effort and, for a time, regularly showed up at the president's side in the White House Oval Office and elsewhere.
Their disagreement over the spending bill led to a falling out that Musk briefly tried unsuccessfully to repair.
Trump has said Musk is unhappy because the measure, which Trump signed into law on Friday, takes away green-energy credits for Tesla's electric vehicles.
The president has threatened to pull billions of dollars Tesla and SpaceX receive in government contracts and subsidies in response to Musk's criticism.
4 Elon Musk attends a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
AP
NASA APPOINTMENT 'INAPPROPRIATE'
Trump in his social media comments also said it was 'inappropriate' to have named Musk ally Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator considering Musk's business with the space agency.
In December Trump named Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, to lead NASA but withdrew the nomination on May 31, before his Senate confirmation vote and without explanation.
Trump, who has yet to announce a new NASA nominee, on Sunday confirmed media reports he disapproved of Isaacman's previous support for Democratic politicians.
4 New York Post Cover front Page for June 6, 2025.
NY Post
'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 said on Truth Social. 'My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!'
Musk's announcement of a new party immediately brought a rebuke from Azoria Partners, which said on Saturday it will postpone the listing of its Azoria Tesla Convexity exchange-traded fund because the party's creation posed 'a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO.' Azoria was set to launch the Tesla ETF this week.
Azoria CEO James Fishback posted on X several critical comments about the new party and reiterated his support for Trump.
'I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO,' Fishback said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
31 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Lawmakers visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz' after being blocked
Advertisement Cage-style units of 32 men share three combination toilet-sink devices, the visitors measured the temperature at 83 degrees (28 degrees Celsius) in one area that was billed as air-conditioned and grasshoppers and other insects abound, she and other Democrats said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toured "Alligator Alcatraz" on July 1. During a tour on Saturday, journalists weren't allowed inside the facility, and lawmakers were instructed not to bring phones or cameras inside. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Although the visitors said they weren't able to speak with the detainees, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democrat from Florida, said one called out 'I'm an American!' and others chanting, 'Libertad!,' a Spanish word for 'freedom.' State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Florida, countered that he had seen a well-run, safe facility where the living quarters were clean and the air conditioning worked well. He recalled that a handful of detainees became 'a little raucous' when the visitors appeared but said he didn't make out what they were saying. Advertisement 'The rhetoric coming out of the Democrats does not match the reality,' he said by phone. 'It's a detention center, not the Four Seasons.' Journalists weren't allowed on the tour, and lawmakers were instructed not to bring phones or cameras inside. Messages seeking comment were sent to the state Division of Emergency Management, which built the facility, and to representatives for Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis spokesperson Molly Best highlighted one of Ingoglia's upbeat readouts on social media. Related : DeSantis and fellow Republicans have touted the makeshift detention center — an agglomeration of tents, trailers and temporary buildings constructed in a matter of days — as an efficient and get-tough response to President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations. The first detainees arrived July 3, after Trump toured and praised the facility. Described as temporary, the detention center is meant to help the Republican president's administration reach its goal of boosting the United States' migrant detention capacity from 41,000 people to at least 100,000. The Florida facility's remote location and its name — a nod to the notorious Alcatraz prison that once housed federal inmates in California — are meant to underscore a message of deterring illegal immigration. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke ahead of a tour of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Facility. Some Republicans have claimed that Democrat's "rhetoric" about the detention facility "does not match the reality." Alexandra Rodriguez/Associated Press Ahead of the facility's opening, state officials said detainees would have access to medical care, consistent air conditioning, a recreation yard, attorneys and clergy members. But detainees and their relatives and advocates have told The Associated Press that conditions are awful, with worm-infested food, toilets overflowing onto floors, mosquitoes buzzing around the fenced bunks, and air conditioners that sometimes shut off in the oppressive South Florida summer heat. One man told his wife that detainees go days without getting showers. Advertisement Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesperson Stephanie Hartman called those descriptions 'completely false,' saying detainees always get three meals a day, unlimited drinking water, showers and other necessities. 'The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order,' she said. Five Democratic state lawmakers tried to visit the site when it opened July 3 but said they were denied access. The state subsequently arranged Saturday's tour. The lawmakers have sued over the denial, saying that DeSantis' administration is impeding lawmakers' oversight authority. A DeSantis spokesperson has called the lawsuit 'dumb.' As Democratic officials headed into the facility, they said they expected to be given a sanitized and limited view. Wasserman Schultz told reporters the lawmakers came anyway because they wanted to ask questions and get a sense of the structure and conditions. Peltz reported from New York, and Rodriguez reported from Ochopee.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trey Yesavage strikes out JJ Wetherholt
Trump says a lot of 'young angels' are still missing due to the deadly Texas floods Trump says a lot of 'young angels' are still missing due to the deadly Texas floods
Newsweek
37 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Five States in Talks for Detention Centers Like 'Alligator Alcatraz'—Noem
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem praised Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center during a Saturday press conference, noting that five other states are in "ongoing conversations" to develop similar facilities modeled after the site. Why It Matters A new Florida detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," was quickly created on Everglades land and holds an estimated 1,000 beds currently, Noem said on Saturday. It has triggered concern from human rights advocates amid concerning reports of conditions, while widely praised by the Trump administration and many of the president's supporters. The center is part of the Trump administration's effort to crackdown on illegal immigration. President Donald Trump has vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, an initiative that has seen an intensification of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the country. However, ICE is struggling with limited capacity and resources to fulfill its mission of millions of deportations. In addition to the $45 billion to expand ICE detention centers allocated in Trump's "big, beautiful" bill, the White House is trying other ways to increase capacity, from repurposing Guantanamo Bay to new detention center contracts issued for private companies GEO Group and CoreCivic. What To Know During a Saturday press conference, Noem applauded Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his partnership with DHS in getting "Alligator Alcatraz" up and running. "We've had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us as well," Noem told reporters, adding that it's a state-run facility that is partnered with DHS. The 39-square-mile site is located at the Miami-Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. The site was chosen in part because it has an airstrip that could be used to fly in detainees. It was built in only eight days to address the federal government's need for more detention beds. The facility will cost about $450 million per year to operate. While it is offering between 500 to 1,000 beds at first, DeSantis noted it will have the capacity of around 3,000 beds once fully operational. The center has drawn backlash from immigration, environmental and Indigenous groups and is facing a lawsuit from the group Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity. Noem said on Saturday that it is "held to the same standard that all federal facilities are." Noem specifically noted, "I'm having ongoing conversations with five other governors about facilities that they may have." The secretary didn't specify which states but noted that all five of the interested governors are Republicans. "I would challenge some Democrats to start taking care of your states, partner with us in a way to make your community safer," she said. "We need to double our capacity in detention beds because we need to facilitate getting people out of this country as fast as possible," Noem added. Since January, the Trump administration has been increasing its efforts to arrest and detain illegal immigrants. While Congress has allocated funding for around tens of thousands of more beds in the current tax bill, the number of detainees stood at roughly 56,300 as of mid-June. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference on July 8 at Reagan National Airport in Washington. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference on July 8 at Reagan National Airport in Washington. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein What People Are Saying Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in a July 3 statement: "It is alarming to see enforcement tactics that treat all irregular immigrants as dangerous criminals. Masked, heavily armed agents who do not identify themselves during enforcement activities are surprising - so is the apparent lack of due process in deportation proceedings in recent months. Along these lines, much of the current rhetoric is obviously intentionally provocative. It is unbecoming of public officials and corrosive of the common good to speak of the deterrence value of 'alligators and pythons' at the Collier-Dade facility. Common decency requires that we remember the individuals being detained are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of distressed relatives." White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek in a July 3 statement: "Alligator Alcatraz is a state-of-the-art facility with adequate beds, air-conditioning, on-site medical, and more, that will help get criminal aliens out of the country." Representative Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat, wrote in a statement: "I've toured these facilities myself – real ones, not the makeshift tents they plan to put up – and even those detention centers contain conditions that are nothing short of human rights abuses. Places where people are forced to eat, sleep, shower, and defecate all in the same room. Places where medical attention is virtually non-existent. Anyone who supports this is a disgusting excuse for a human being, let alone a public servant." What Happens Next? Noem told reporters there will be announcements regarding the five other states' new facilities and DHS partnerships soon.
