Donald Trump didn't hold back on Sunday, calling Elon Musk’s launch of a new US political party “ridiculous.” Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving his New Jersey golf club, Trump mocked the idea: “Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it—but it’s ridiculous.”
Back on Truth Social, Trump expanded with fury. “I’m watching Elon Musk go completely off the rails—he’s been a TRAIN WRECK for five weeks straight,” Trump posted. “He’s even trying to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they’ve never succeeded in this country.”
According to Trump, third parties are only good at sowing "Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS." He claimed Musk’s motivations were driven by anger over his plans to end federal subsidies for electric vehicles—a direct blow to Musk’s Tesla empire.
Trump also dropped a bombshell, alleging that Musk tried to influence the government by urging him to appoint Musk’s close friend, Jared Isaacman, as NASA administrator. That plan was scrapped after Musk stepped away from his brief stint as a special government employee. Trump wrote, “It didn’t seem right that someone in the space business and so close to Elon should run NASA, considering how much of NASA is tied to Elon’s companies.”
Earlier that same day, Trump’s former Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, echoed the criticism, suggesting Musk should “focus on his businesses” and leave politics alone. This came just a day after Musk, the world’s richest man and former White House adviser, unveiled plans to form a new political movement.
Bessent commented on CNN's State of the Union, saying, “People liked the idea of Doge, but not Elon himself.” He was referring to the “Department of Government Efficiency”, which Musk briefly led during the start of Trump’s second term. Musk’s tenure was notorious for severe job cuts and slashing federal spending, moves that polls showed were widely unpopular.
Investors in Musk’s companies, including Tesla, which has faced falling sales, reportedly pressured him to return full-time to business. Bessent added, “I imagine the boards of his companies weren’t thrilled by his political ambitions and will want him to stick to running the businesses.”
Musk’s announcement of the new America Party came late Saturday and early Sunday on X, his own social media platform. In a fiery post, he accused both parties of bankrupting the country, writing: “When it comes to wasting money and corruption, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. That ends now.”
He declared: “The America Party is here to give you back your freedom.”
Musk, who served unofficially as head of the Doge initiative between January and May, has been vocally critical of Trump’s massive tax and spending bill—dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.” The Congressional Budget Office estimated it would inflate the deficit by $3.3 trillion by 2034.
The legislation granted huge tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy while gutting welfare programs, leading to up to 10.6 million people losing healthcare coverage.
Tensions between Trump and Musk have flared ever since Musk’s departure from government in May. On Independence Day, just after Trump signed the controversial bill, Musk posted a poll asking Americans if they wanted “independence from the two-party—or uniparty—system.” The results? A resounding two-to-one in favor.
Though light on details, Musk hinted the new party would target two or three Senate seats and 8 to 10 House races. With Congress narrowly split, Musk claimed that this could be enough to "tip the balance on key laws" and truly "reflect the will of the people."
Still, not everyone is buying into Musk’s vision. Bessent swiftly criticized the move, and Musk’s posts on X kept pouring in, taking their feud to a new level.
Their once cordial relationship soured again after Musk revived past scandals, reposting a photo of Ghislaine Maxwell and raising questions about why others involved in underage sex crimes haven’t been jailed. Previously, Musk even invoked Trump’s alleged connection to Jeffrey Epstein, only to later delete the post and apologize during an uneasy truce.
Now, with his political gloves off again, Musk doubled down. “It’s not hard to break the two-party chokehold,” he claimed, even asking, “When and where should we host the first America Party congress? This is going to be fun!”
Trump, meanwhile, is firing back hard. After Musk slammed his bill as “insane,” Trump said he might “look into” deporting Musk, who is a naturalized US citizen born in South Africa. He also hinted at cutting government funding to Musk's companies, especially SpaceX, which holds multi-billion-dollar government contracts.
“Doge might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible?” Trump quipped to reporters.
While new political parties in the U.S. don’t need to immediately register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), regulations do kick in once certain financial thresholds are crossed. And Musk? He’s already dropped over $275 million of his own fortune backing Trump’s re-election bid just last year.
Description:
"Donald Trump blasts Elon Musk’s creation of a new political party, calling it “ridiculous,” while accusing the tech billionaire of chaos, manipulation, and disloyalty. Musk fires back, launching the America Party to take down the two-party system. The feud just turned nuclear."