Trump Derides Musk's Third Political Party Plan as Bound to Fail
'Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous,' Trump told reporters on Sunday.
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New York Times
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Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump's Student Crackdown, Begins
A federal judge in Boston on Monday will hear opening statements in a trial expected to cut to the heart of several of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics, including President Trump, Israel and free speech on college campuses. The case, filed by a pair of academic associations in March, has become the foremost challenge to the Trump administration's aggressive posture toward foreign students who espoused pro-Palestinian views. It contends that the government's targeting of prominent noncitizen academics who have criticized Israel — such as Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi of Columbia University and Rumeysa Ozturk of Tufts — has already partially succeeded in chilling political speech across the country, and should be categorically stopped on First Amendment grounds. All of those academics, who are either legal permanent residents or in the United States on student visas, have successfully fought for and obtained their release even as their immigration cases continue to wend through the courts. But lawyers for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, who are representing the associations, will argue at trial this week that the arrests were part of an official policy that could just as easily be turned on other groups that clash with the Trump administration. While the Supreme Court has affirmed in at least one major case that foreign nationals living in the United States are generally entitled to First Amendment rights, constitutional law experts have cautioned that there are few obvious legal parallels in American history. In its filings, the government has argued that pro-Palestinian demonstrations are an expression of support for Hamas, which the American government considers a terrorist organization. It has relied on Cold War-era precedents in which the Supreme Court upheld the government's power to deny entry to people over their past membership in the Communist Party. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Newsweek
22 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Elon Musk Can't Run For President—But This Is What His Party Can Do
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. 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.
Fox News
23 minutes ago
- Fox News
Gavin Newsom is making a strategic visit to a key primary state, raising eyebrows
California Gov. Gavin Newsom heads to South Carolina this week to spend two days meeting with voters in the state that officially held the first primary in the Democrats' 2024 calendar. The trip by the term-limited governor with a large national profile is sure to spark plenty of 2028 speculation, since Newsom is considered a potential contender for the next Democratic presidential nomination. The South Carolina Democratic Party, which announced the two-day swing, said Newsom will take part Tuesday and Wednesday in meet and greets, to shake hands and take questions, during eight stops in cafes, coffee shops and churches. "The SCDP presents On The Road with Gavin Newsom. We're making stops across the state to talk with families all over SC. It's your chance to connect, be heard, and feel seen," the state party wrote in a social media post last week. It's part of the state party's effort to bring national Democrats to parts of South Carolina that they say have long been overlooked and "left behind" by Republican officials in the GOP-dominated state. "Governor Newsom leads the largest economy in America and the fourth largest in the world, and he's coming to meet folks in towns that have been hollowed out by decades of Republican control," state party chair Christale Spain said in a statement. Newsom stopped in South Carolina in January of last year to campaign on behalf of then-President Joe Biden during the state's 2024 presidential primary. Newsom also traveled to Nevada, another early-voting state in the party's primary calendar. And Newsom also traveled last summer on behalf of Biden to New Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. The former president was the Democrats' 2024 standardbearer before dropping out of the race last July following a disastrous debate performance against now-President Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic national ticket. South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada are vying for the lead-off position in the next presidential election cycle, and the Democratic National Committee is expected to decide on their 2028 calendar by early 2027. Newsom has long been thought to harbor national ambitions and is considered one of many Democrats who may make a run for the party's 2028 presidential nomination. The two-day swing through South Carolina will give Newsom an opportunity to make connections not only with voters, but also with local party and elected officials. The relationships forged this week could possibly pay dividends down the road for Newsom if he eventually decides to launch a 2028 presidential campaign.
