A fresh political rift occurred over the weekend as President Donald Trump took direct aim at Elon Musk, denouncing the tech mogul’s newly announced “America Party” as misguided and disruptive. Trump dismissed the third-party bid as “ridiculous,” warning it would only sow confusion in a system built for two dominant parties.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac in Bedminster, New Jersey, before boarding Air Force One, Trump reacted sharply when asked about Musk’s third-party move. “I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party,” he said according to Fox News. “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. Third parties have never worked. So, he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”
Musk, who once supported Trump both financially and ideologically, announced the formation of the America Party on Saturday through a post on X. Tagging the move as a rebellion against entrenched corruption, Musk declared the existing political structure unrepresentative of the American people.
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His announcement followed a viral Independence Day poll he conducted on X, where he asked users whether the country should declare “independence” from what he described as a “two-party (some would say uniparty) system.” More than 1.2 million people participated, with 65.4% voting “yes.”
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“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” Musk wrote. “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.”
Later that day, Trump took to Truth Social to further criticize Musk’s political detour. He suggested the billionaire had veered off course in recent weeks and was now descending into political instability.
“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,” Trump wrote. “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!”
Trump compared the chaos he associated with Musk’s plan against what he called the Republican Party’s efficiency. “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,” he said. He then tied Musk’s breakaway to personal interests, citing the EV mandate rolled back in the new legislation.
“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,” Trump added. “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. He said he had no problems with that – I was very surprised!”
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Trump also revealed previously undisclosed tension between the two men, including Musk’s reported push for a close friend to run NASA. “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,” Trump wrote. “My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”
Musk’s party launch came just a day after Trump signed the $3.3 trillion “Big, Beautiful Bill” into law, legislation that includes tax cuts, infrastructure investment, and spending reductions. While Musk hasn’t directly linked the new party to the bill, the timing and his previous criticisms of government spending suggest a clear line of opposition.
The entrepreneur has long warned that both major parties are guilty of excessive spending, and he views the current political system as incapable of curbing it. With his America Party, Musk says he aims to establish a disruptive bloc in Congress, targeting a handful of critical seats in 2026 to force legislative accountability from both sides.
Yet history is not on his side. Third parties in the U.S. have consistently struggled due to structural hurdles such as the Electoral College, ballot access restrictions, and winner-take-all elections. Even prominent efforts like Ross Perot’s 1992 run, which garnered nearly 19% of the vote, failed to secure any Electoral College victory.
Other third-party challengers, such as Ralph Nader and Gary Johnson, made headlines in isolated cycles but couldn’t build sustainable political power. The last third-party candidate to make a serious dent was Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 with the Bull Moose Party, a run that split Republicans and handed the presidency to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
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