Elon Musk Forms 'American Party' After Splitting with Donald Trump, Here's How Musk Criticized Trump Best for you ...
Elon Musk Forms 'American Party' After Splitting with Donald Trump, Here's How Musk Criticized Trump
Best for you Elon Musk said he is carrying out his threat to form a new political party following his rift with President Donald Trump, announcing the American Party in response to the massive tax cut legislation enacted by the president.
Musk, who had once been a loyal ally of Trump while leading the government-cutting body known as the Department of Government Efficiency, disagreed with the Republican president over the bill he signed, which was enacted into law on Friday.
As the bill was being discussed in Congress, Musk threatened to form an "American Party" if "this insane spending bill is passed."
"If it comes to waste and corruption that is bankrupting our country, we are living in a one-party system, not a democracy," Musk said on Saturday on X, his social media company.
Today, the American Party was formed to restore your freedom.
The formation of a new political party is not unusual, but they usually struggle to attract significant support from the Republican and Democratic parties.
However, Musk, the world's richest person who has spent at least $250 million to support Trump in the 2024 election, could influence the 2026 elections determining control of Congress if he is willing to spend a significant amount of money.
His renewed feud with the president could also hurt Musk, whose businesses rely on billions of dollars in government contracts, while publicly traded Tesla has been hit hard in the market.
It is unclear whether Musk has taken steps to officially form the new political party. Musk's spokesperson and his political action committee, America PAC, did not immediately comment on Sunday.
As of Sunday morning, there were several political parties listed in the Federal Election Commission's database that had been formed in the hours since Musk's Saturday post on X, featuring versions of "America Party" with "DOGE" or "X" in their names, or listing Musk among those affiliated with the entities.
Namun tidak satupun yang tampak asli, mencantumkan kontak organisasi sebagai alamat email seperti ” wentsnowboarding@yahoo.com ″ atau alamat Protonmail yang tidak dapat dilacak.
On Sunday morning, Musk spent time on X gathering user feedback about the party and indicated he would use the party to participate in the 2026 midterm elections.
Bulan lalu, ia mengancam akan mencoba menyingkirkan setiap anggota Kongres yang memberikan suara mendukung RUU Trump. Musk menyebut paket keringanan pajak dan pemotongan belanja sebagai "kekejian yang menjijikkan," memperingatkan bahwa hal itu akan meningkatkan defisit federal, di antara kritik lainnya.
"Republican Party has swept all branches of the executive, legislative, and judicial [branches], and STILL has the audacity to massively increase the size of government, expanding the national debt by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS," Musk wrote on Sunday on X.
His criticism of the bill and steps to form a political party marked a reversal from May, when his tenure at the White House was nearing its end, and the leader of the rocket company SpaceX and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla said he would spend "less" money on politics in the future.
Finance Minister Scott Bessent, who clashed with Musk while running DOGE, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program Sunday that DOGE's "principles" are popular but "if you look at the polls, Elon isn't."
"I think the board of directors was not pleased with yesterday's announcement and will push him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities," he said.
Donald Trump criticizes Elon Musk's 'America Party'
The U.S. president described Musk's plan, who has so far been his most prominent advisor and financial supporter, to form a new political party as "ridiculous."
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized the launch of a new U.S. political party called the American Party by billionaire CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and until recently a close advisor to Trump, announced the formation of the American Party in a series of posts on Saturday night.
"If it concerns the waste and corruption that have bankrupted our country, we are living in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the American Party was formed to restore your freedoms," he wrote on X, his social media platform.
On Sunday, Trump said that it would be "silly" to start a third party.
The Democratic Party has lost its way, but this system has always been a two-party system," Trump said, adding, "and I think starting a third party would only add to the confusion. The system seems to have developed, but three parties have never succeeded.
Musk vocally opposes Trump's "Great Big Beautiful" bill
Musk first proposed the idea of forming a new political party after a heated public dispute with Trump.
Musk spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support Trump's re-election and led what was called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, within Trump's administration, which aimed to cut government spending, before their disagreements became public.
He revived the idea of a new political party this week when U.S. lawmakers approved Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.
Musk is one of the most vocal critics of the bill and has promised to form a new party to oppose the Republican Party, which supports the bill.
On Friday, he posted a poll asking whether users "want independence from the two-party system (some call it a one-party system)," which drew more than 1.2 million responses, with more than 60 percent supporting a new party.
Musk faces a difficult legacy in the form of third-party challenges
Truly competitive third parties can disrupt the dominance of Democrats and Republicans for over a century at all levels of government.
However, Musk is not the first person to attempt to establish a party to challenge their dominance.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt nearly won in 1912 after leaving the Republican Party. He ran as the Progressive Party candidate and won 27% of the popular vote and 88 electoral votes.
Recently, Ross Perot, another billionaire, won 19% of the popular vote but no electoral votes in the 1992 presidential campaign as an independent and later formed the Reform Party.
Musk's billions meet voting reality
Musk has indicated that he is not aiming for a sweeping victory. Instead, his America Party will focus on capturing several House and Senate seats by applying, "highly concentrated power in the right locations on the battlefield."
He believed that by targeting the major races, the American Party could hold a decisive vote on controversial legislation.
A large campaign fund can give Musk an advantage.
Parties spend billions of dollars to elect their candidates. According to the donation watchdog OpenSecrets, nearly $16 billion (approximately €13.58 billion) was spent on the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.
Musk himself is the largest donor in the 2023-24 election cycle. He has donated more than $291 million to the Republican Party across all races.
However, money is not the only important factor.
In April, Musk had issued million-dollar checks to a number of voters in Wisconsin ahead of the state's Supreme Court elections.
Voters chose Democrat-backed Susan Crawford, who defeated conservative Brad Schimel for the State Supreme Court seat, despite Musk spending $25 million.
SOURCE: ABC NEWS, DW
COMMENTS