Elon Musk Can't Run For President—But This Is What His Party Can Do
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Elon Musk's new political party could split the right-wing vote but is unlikely to succeed in any major way, experts have told Newsweek.
While Musk cannot run for president because he was born in South Africa, the party has the potential to shake-up politics ahead of the midterms, though it is doubtful it will break through in its own right.
Experts doubted Musk could organize a fully fledged political party in time to fight the midterms in a meaningful way, but conceded that he could certainly create enough disruption to cause a few upsets and allow the democrats to make significant gains.
Why It Matters
On Saturday, Musk announced he was forming a new political party called the "America Party."
It came after Musk—who supported Trump during the 2024 presidential election campaign and who the president put in charge of the agency Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) —fell out with Trump over "The One Big Beautiful Bill."
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump take part in a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House May 30, 2025.
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump take part in a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House May 30, 2025.
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images
Musk posted a poll on July 4, asking respondents if they wanted a new party, with 65.4 percent saying that they backed the idea.
On X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom," citing the poll.
What To Know
As a foreign-born U.S. citizen, Musk cannot run for president but he can support third-party candidates, who can put themselves on the ballot in every state, if they have enough signatures to support their bid. It is rare for third-party candidates to break through significantly.
Experts told Newsweek that it is possible that Musk's party could split the right-wing vote. If this happens, Democrats may be able to pick up seats in the Senate and the House. Given the Republican majorities in these institutions are so slight, this could affect the balance of the House.
They also noted that to be successful, the party would need to be well-organized and well financed, or it will flounder.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Newsweek, Carl Tobias, Williams chair in law at the University of Richmond said: "Musk provides few specifics regarding his vision for creating a new viable third party, which has rarely succeeded in the country's 250-year history. However, Musk's attempt to establish another political party appears likely to bring even greater uncertainty into the already unclear Senate and House midterm elections. For instance, Democrats must only win a small number of posts in the Senate and the House to capture razor-thin majorities in each house. Musk, whose mantra is to 'move rapidly and break things,' could well do exactly that in the 2026 midterm elections."
Scott Lucas, a professor in international politics at University College Dublin, told Newsweek that the success of the party "depends on whether Elon has the bandwidth in terms of time, resources and attention span to do what is necessary to establish a political party."
"It's one thing to tweet about it," he continued, "it's far different to organize it."
He added that Musk would need to recruit candidates and staff as well as volunteers across the United States to get the movement off the ground and that there is not much time to do that before the November 2026 midterms.
He also said that while Musk is well-financed, if he is the only person financing the venture then "it doesn't really look like a party as much as an ego project."
"This can't just simply be a one-man show firing off tweets and just poking at Trump," he said.
Dafydd Townley, an American politics expert at the University of Portsmouth, previously told Newsweek that "third parties do not tend to have a long lifetime in American politics," adding that Musk's new party "would likely split the Republican vote, potentially resulting in a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, at least in the short term, due to the winner-takes-all electoral system."
What Happens Next
The impact Musk's party will have on a federal level remains to be seen as further details about it emerge. It is not known how the party will be structured and what other figures will be involved in it though some political figures have appeared to express interest in the venture.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
28 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Podcast: Renewed Trade Tensions Drive Down U.S. Stocks
Stocks' decline accelerates after President Trump announces 25% tariffs on goods from Japan and South Korea and threatens additional tariffs on countries building closer ties with Brics economies. Plus: Tesla shares fall after Elon Musk says he is forming a new political party. 🎧 Listen: Danny Lewis hosts the Minute Briefing podcast.
Los Angeles Times
29 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Six months after L.A. fires, Newsom calls for federal aid while criticizing Trump's ‘polluted heart'
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday marked the six-month anniversary of the Eaton and Palisades fires with a call for billions in federal funding to support the state's wildfire recovery, and offered a blistering critique of the Trump administration's most recent immigration raids in MacArthur Park. Newsom said the immigration raids were proof of President Trump's 'polluted heart,' a shift from the weeks after the fires when he tried to strike a more conciliatory tone as he pushed for more federal aid from Congress and the White House. The comments, made after a news conference to mark the six-month anniversary of the fires, left Newsom once again in the conflicting position of criticizing Republicans while asking them for disaster aid. So far, the GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives has made no progress on a request from Newsom, made in late February, for $40 billion in additional wildfire funding that would go toward rebuilding schools, churches, homes and hospitals. Newsom said Monday that fire funding is a nonpartisan issue, and that all U.S. states are 'in this together.' He said that other states have outstanding requests for federal aid after their own natural disasters, and that the Republican-controlled House will 'absolutely' come through. He urged federal lawmakers to do the same for Texas after last week's deadly floods. 'South Carolina, I think they should get every penny that they need,' Newsom said. 'North Carolina, they should get every penny that they need. ... I expect that we will figure out a path, a bipartisan path, to support the people of the United States of America, and those include the 40 million Americans residing in California.' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had been scheduled to appear at the event, held at Pasadena City College, but did not attend after heavily armed federal immigration agents on horseback descended on MacArthur Park. The federal government's work in Los Angeles County has included a record-breaking debris removal program run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Newsom said Monday that 9,195 of the 9,873 properties enrolled in the federal government's debris removal program have been cleared. That figure doesn't include commercial buildings, which were not included in the Army Corps program, or the nearly 2,000 property owners who chose to hire their own private contractors for debris removal. Newsom said the clearance was the fastest in California history, surpassing the cleanups that followed the 2018 Camp and Woolsey fires. The federal government has reimbursed the state and local governments for direct response costs and paid for their own debris cleanup, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the governor. The federal government has also provided more than $3 billion in individual assistance to homeowners and small-business loans, he said. Long-term recovery funding, which the federal government typically provides states after disasters, is expected to be determined by Congress after lawmakers return to work in September, Ferguson said. Reps. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), who represent Altadena and Pacific Palisades in Congress, said they were continuing to push for the supplemental aid package in Congress with 'no strings.' Some Republicans have suggested linking aid to policy decisions in California, including changes to water policy or voter identification laws. Sherman said California's $40-billion request could get through the House 'as a supplemental that also includes the Texas disaster and other disasters.' Newsom and Trump appeared to put aside their political differences in January when the commander in chief traveled to Los Angeles to survey wildfire damage. After embracing on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, the two sparring partners pledged to work together to rebuild the fire-ravaged communities. Hours before the in-person meeting, the president had threatened to condition any wildfire funding on California agreeing to adopt more stringent voter identification laws. Trump has continued to point the finger at Newsom since the meeting, calling the governor and local officials 'incompetent.' In his final days in the White House, President Biden pledged that the federal government would cover 100% of disaster assistance costs to California for 180 days, and the Trump administration has 'honored that commitment,' Newsom said Monday. But Newsom hasn't held back sharp critiques of the president's leadership on other major topics, including immigration, tariffs, and healthcare funding. After discussing the state's response to the wildfires, Newsom condemned the federal immigration raids on Monday in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles as 'a disgrace.' The timing isn't a coincidence, Newsom said. He said that an estimated 41% of the state's construction workforce is working without legal status, and that immigration raids could shake a sector that is 'foundational' to the state's recovery. 'They know what they're doing,' he said. 'And then again, they have no idea what they're doing. Their ignorance is legendary. And the impacts of this will be felt in the recovery — and that's on them. Donald Trump owns that. He owns the cruelty, he owns the arrogance.'
CNN
29 minutes ago
- CNN
Zohran Mamdani's opposition struggles to unite in New York City mayoral race
Fresh off losing New York's Democratic primary for mayor to Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday ramped up his efforts to push the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, out of the race. Cuomo's latest gambit to keep alive his mayoral bid — and his political comeback after resigning as governor — is backing a proposal that all Mamdani challengers adhere to the results of a poll that would be taken in September, weeks before the November election. Whichever candidate is deemed by the survey to be the strongest challenger to Mamdani would continue their campaign. The rest of the field would agree to suspend their campaigns and endorse that challenger. The proposal would need the approval of the city's campaign finance board. Speaking on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' on Monday, Adams said Cuomo recently called him to suggest he should step aside and clear a lane for him to compete against Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist. 'I'm the sitting mayor of the city of New York and you expect me to step aside when you just lost to Zohran?' Adams said during the interview. Adams, who opted to sit out the Democratic primary and is running as an independent, described Cuomo's request as 'the highest level of arrogance.' Cuomo remains on the November ballot as the candidate of the 'Fight and Deliver Party' but has not held any public events since primary night or committed to campaigning through November. In a statement issued by Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi on Monday, the former governor's campaign did not appear any closer to bowing out of the race. 'Mayor Adams did not run in the Democratic primary because he knew he was anathema to Democrats and unelectable. Nothing has changed. We do not see any path to victory for Mayor Adams,' Azzopardi said. New York City's political establishment, which was shaken by Mamdani's resounding win, has struggled to coalesce behind a single candidate. For now, observers think Cuomo could split the city's Black vote with Adams. Also in the field is a third independent candidate, Jim Walden, who originally pitched the survey idea. Curtis Sliwa, a radio personality and founder of the Guardian Angels, a crime-prevention group, is running as the Republican nominee. He has also declined requests to drop out to send GOP support to Adams, who has drawn closer to President Donald Trump and had his corruption charges dismissed by Trump's Department of Justice. The scramble was on display Monday during a news conference in Midtown Manhattan. Former Gov. David Paterson, who endorsed Cuomo in the primary, said a single independent candidate should challenge Mamdani in the general election. But he refused to answer when asked who he thought the candidate should be. 'We can do this, but it's going to take a united effort, and it's going to take some sacrifice that someone is going to have to make,' Paterson said.
