Trump dismisses Musk's political ambitions as 'ridiculous' in sharp rebuke
President Donald Trump slammed former first buddy Elon Musk for starting a third political party, saying such parties have "never worked" while also calling the move "ridiculous."
Trump spoke with reporters before boarding Air Force 1 in Bedminster, New Jersey, when he was asked about Musk’s move to start a third party.
"I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party," Trump said from the tarmac. "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," the president continued. "Third parties have never worked. So, he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous."
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Musk announced the launching of a new political party called the "America Party" on his social media platform X on Saturday.
The entrepreneur called the formation of the party a direct response to a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people.
The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll on X, where Musk asked whether voters wanted independence from what he called the "two-party (some would say uniparty) system."
Over 1.2 million votes were cast, with 65.4% saying "yes."
"By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it," Musk posted Saturday. "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom."
A short time after his gaggle with reporters, Trump turned to Truth Social to express concerns over Musk, while giving insight into what may have led to the two parting ways.
"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them," the president said. "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," Trump continued. "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."
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Trump said he has been "strongly opposed" to an EV mandate from the very beginning, and the new bill allows consumers to buy whatever type of vehicle they want, whether it is electric, gas, or hybrid-powered.
"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," Trump said. "He said he had no problems with that - I was very surprised!"
Trump also said Musk asked a close friend of his to run NASA, but the president took issue with it when he found out that friend was a "blue blooded Democrat" who never contributed to a Republican.
"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," he said. "My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!"
Musk chose to establish a new political party after expressing grave concerns with the president's "Big, Beautiful Bill," which was signed into law on Friday at the White House.
The sweeping $3.3 trillion legislation includes tax cuts, infrastructure spending and stimulus measures and has drawn criticism from fiscal conservatives and libertarians. Though Musk did not reference the bill directly in his America Party posts, the timing suggests rising friction between the billionaire and the president. Musk has previously warned that unchecked spending by both parties threatens the long-term health of the economy.
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The new party, according to Musk’s posts, will target a few key seats in Congress. The goal is to create a swing bloc powerful enough to hold the balance of power and block what Musk sees as the worst excesses of both Republicans and Democrats.
Third parties have traditionally had a difficult time gaining ground in American politics as the system is built for two dominant parties. With the Electoral College, winner-take-all elections and strict ballot access laws, outsiders cannot meaningfully compete. Even when a third-party candidate catches fire, it rarely lasts beyond a single election cycle.
One of the biggest third-party efforts in recent history was Ross Perot’s 1992 run. He earned nearly 19% of the popular vote as an independent but didn’t win a single Electoral College vote. It was the closest a third-party candidate got to the White House after President Teddy Roosevelt's famed Bull Moose Party run in 1912 against his onetime protégé, William Howard Taft.
Others, like Ralph Nader, have tried with the Green Party, and Gary Johnson with the Libertarian Party, but no third-party candidate has come close to winning the presidency.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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