The primary focus of the U.S. political sphere regarding Musk’s formation of a third party is on how it will disrupt the Trump administration’s governance and impact next year’s midterm elections, with little mention of the potential contributions it might make to improving the welfare of ordinary Americans.
BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called billionaire Elon Musk’s plans to form a new political party “ridiculous,” one day after Musk announced on social media the creation of a new “America Party.”
U.S. media and observers have noted that the rift between Musk and Trump, from being close allies to having a very public falling out, stems from considerations of political power and economic interests, as exemplified by the disagreements over the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Against the backdrop of deeply polarized partisan politics in the United States, the prospects for Musk’s new political party remain uncertain. Nonetheless, this “power game” among various interest groups reflects the ongoing turmoil of American politics.
CLASH OF INTERESTS BEHIND POWER GAME
In less than a year, the alliance of Trump and Musk — two of the most powerful billionaires in the United States — collapsed into a bitter split.
In July 2024, Musk endorsed Trump’s presidential campaign following an assassination attempt at a rally and made substantial donations in the lead-up to the November election. After Trump took office earlier this year, he appointed Musk to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Not long after, Musk was reportedly involved in intense arguments with key members of Trump’s cabinet. At the end of May, he resigned from DOGE, claiming that he had become a “scapegoat” for the Trump administration. Shortly thereafter, the two publicly clashed over the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and other issues.
Observers suggest that Trump and Musk initially formed an alliance due to their shared stance on issues such as government deregulation and their mutual criticism of so-called “woke” culture. However, major disagreements over government spending and the development of renewable energy ultimately drove them apart.
Trump bluntly stated that Musk was unhappy with the high-profile spending and tax bill because it eliminated subsidies for new energy vehicles.
On Saturday, Musk reposted a social media post by tech industry investor Tyler Palmer about the positions of the “America Party,” indicating his support for policies such as reducing debt, promoting AI development, and easing regulations in the energy sector.
Aside from policy disagreements, Trump and Musk also parted ways due to clashing management styles. According to U.S. business news website Business Insider, Musk’s tech-driven, efficiency-focused leadership clashed with traditional political structures, sparking a power struggle within the Trump administration.
Francis Fukuyama, a professor of Political Science at Stanford University, wrote in an article that Trump used Musk to do his “dirty work” and, when he became more of a liability than an asset, he discarded him.
“Ultimately, this saga underscores how fragile political-business alliances can be, especially when ambition and ego collide. The Trump-Musk rupture … illustrates the limits of friendship between state power and tech capital in the age of social media and celebrity governance,” according to an analysis published by the UAE think tank Future For Advanced Research & Studies.
NEW POLITICAL PARTY? EASIER SAID THAN DONE
As his relationship with Trump deteriorated, Musk repeatedly floated the idea of forming a third party. After the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed Congress and was signed by Trump, Musk officially made the announcement. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk said on X — the social media platform he owns — on Saturday.
In a public poll conducted on July 4, 65.4 percent of the 1.249 million participants supported the formation of the “America Party.” In an earlier online poll launched by Musk in early June, more than 5.5 million votes were cast within 24 hours, with 80.5 percent expressing support for the creation of a third party.
Experts have noted that although many American voters are dissatisfied with the Democratic and Republican parties, they lack a viable third option. The main reason is that, from the perspective of political dynamics and the electoral system, it is tough for a third party to emerge that can rival the two major parties.
The so-called “sore loser” laws, for example, prevent candidates who lose a primary election from running again in the general election as independents or under a different party.
“The hurdles for creating a new party and getting it on the ballot are extremely high. It can be done if you have endless amounts of money, but it’s a multi-year project and will cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” Brett Kappel, a veteran election lawyer, recently told CBS News.
The challenges Musk would face are “formidable,” and not just political, Newsweek noted. “Systemic barriers, such as restrictive ballot access laws, the Electoral College, first-past-the-post voting, and a lack of access to national debate stages, make it nearly impossible for a new party to gain significant ground without dismantling decades of established political infrastructure,” the report said.
“Third parties have traditionally arisen around certain ‘hot button’ issues that the two main parties, at least one of them, eventually move to make them their own, thus taking the wind out of the sails of the much smaller and less established third party,” Greg Cusack, a former member of the Iowa House of Representatives, told Xinhua.
Third parties such as the Libertarian Party and the Green Party have existed for decades. They have participated in federal and state-level elections and have even fielded presidential candidates. But the number of votes they receive has been minimal, making it impossible to break the two-party monopoly.
“Attempts to establish a successful third party in U.S. politics have long proven to be difficult and near-impossible,” Time Magazine reported.
Even Trump weighed in. “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 in a post.
DISORDER AND CHAOS
Musk and Trump’s dramatic “breakup” and the all-out war of words surrounding the “America Party” once again highlight the disorder and chaos of American politics, illustrating a political system in deep trouble.
Observers noted that the two online polls launched by Musk regarding the formation of a third party both received high levels of public support, reflecting widespread frustration among Americans with the current political polarization.
However, after witnessing the frequent clashes between Musk and the Trump administration, the proportion of people supporting Musk’s creation of the “America Party” has significantly declined.
Despite numerous hurdles, Musk holds unique advantages over other minor U.S. parties or historical third parties, including internet traffic and public attention, as the founder or co-founder of several key technology companies and the owner of a major social media platform.
Meanwhile, Musk is well aware of the challenges facing the “America Party.” In one post, he outlined a “roadmap” for the party, focusing on first winning 2 or 3 seats in the Senate and 8 to 10 seats in the House of Representatives.
U.S. media believe that although the future of the “America Party” remains uncertain, it could shake up the 2026 midterm elections. Some argue that the new party would likely split the Republican vote, due to the winner-takes-all electoral system.
“The one thing third parties are good for is the creation of complete and total disruption and chaos,” Trump wrote.
The primary focus of the U.S. political sphere regarding Musk’s formation of a third party is on how it will disrupt the Trump administration’s governance and impact next year’s midterm elections, with little mention of the potential contributions it might make to improving the welfare of ordinary Americans.
The new party’s positions may “reflect a Silicon Valley techno-libertarian lens that doesn’t always align with broader public needs, especially among working-class or rural voters who are less directly invested in the high-tech economy,” the Newsweek article noted.
“I have no idea who might be attracted to his purported ‘third party,'” Cusack told Xinhua.
The Washington Post published an article stating that there is widespread distrust among Americans towards the U.S. political system. Citing a person who has served as a sounding board for Musk and speaking on condition of anonymity, the article described American politics as already “broken” and “a tougher problem to fix than landing a rocket.”
It now appears that even with a third political party, it will ultimately be futile unless it genuinely represents the interests of the American people.■
