USA Today (“Elon Musk announces new ‘America’ party after slamming Trump’s megabill“):
Elon Musk announced the formation of a new political party amid his strident criticism of President Donald Trump’s signature legislation.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X on July 5. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
The move follows his falling-out with former close ally President Donald Trump over spending levels in the president’s mega-bill and concerns about it increasing the federal debt. Musk strongly criticized the bill, attempted to rally opposition to it among Republicans in Congress, and called for a new political party in response.
[…]
Musk polled the idea of a new political party July 4 on his social media platform X.
“Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system!” Musk wrote, before citing the poll results − which were 2-1 in favor − on July 5.
“You want a new political party and you shall have it!” He declared.
The new party might be active in a limited number of races, Musk suggested.
“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” Musk wrote. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”
NYT (“Elon Musk Says He Will Start a New Political Party“) adds a crucial caveat:
Mr. Musk, once a close ally of President Trump’s who in recent weeks has repeatedly bickered with him, had not filed paperwork as of Saturday evening for the new party, though he added in a separate post that the America Party would be active in elections “next year.” No immediate signs suggested that Mr. Musk was working to establish his party quickly. Any new entity would be required to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission.
Mr. Musk has spoken with friends in recent days about his plan for a political party and what it would take to accomplish it, according to a person briefed on those conversations. The discussions have been more conceptual than pragmatic, the person said.
Even as Mr. Musk has proved that he is willing to use his resources to move quickly and dramatically, he also has a long history of not following through on promises.
Even assuming he follows through and commits huge amounts of money, it’s rather doubtful that this will amount to much. As Steven Taylor has noted here time and again, third parties face tremendous obstacles in our system.
Further, it’s not at all clear what the America Party’s agenda is, other than opposition to a bill that’s already passed. To the extent a governing rationale exists, it would be far more productive to back primary candidates who espouse it than to create an upstart party. Most of the 435 congressional districts have been gerrymandered to strongly favor one of the existing parties, meaning that the primary is functionally the election that matters.
The Senate is more interesting. While 33 seats are up for election in 2026, only six races are expected to be competitive and one three—Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia—are considered true toss-ups. The North Carolina seat is open, as Republican incumbent Thom Tillis has announced his retirement (and would likely have lost his primary after voting against the BBB). Democrat Gary Peters, Michigan’s senior Senator, won re-election in 2020 by only 1.7%. And Democrat Jon Ossoff won the 2020 Georgia runoff under the worst possible conditions for a Republican. It wouldn’t be difficult to find three attractive, non-MAGA Republicans and back them with a huge bankroll.
Would that be successful? Maybe not. But it would be much more likely to yield Musk-friendly Senators than starting a new party.
Of course, if the goal is simply thwarting Trump, the easiest thing to do would be to back the Democrat in all six competitive races. Presumably, though, that’s not the outcome Musk desires.
