President Donald Trump suggested this week that he believes erstwhile adviser Elon Musk’s attempt to launch a third political party would be beneficial to him.
Late last week, Musk said he would be creating the “America Party” in response to the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act being signed into law, although details about the party have not been revealed, and no federal filings have been submitted.
Musk had endorsed Trump’s presidential bid last year before ultimately joining the administration for roughly four months. He departed in late May before criticizing the bill and Trump in a multitude of social media posts, drawing pushback from Trump.
The Tesla CEO on July 5 wrote that the party will “fight the Republican/Democrat Uniparty,” stating that both Democrats and Republicans have been “bankrupting our country.” But it’s not yet clear what Musk is planning to do with his party, as he cannot run in presidential elections due to his being a naturalized U.S. citizen; meanwhile, third parties historically perform poorly in federal elections.
“Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?” Musk wrote, citing a poll that he posted on his own X account that showed about two-thirds voting yes. It’s not clear how many people who voted in favor of the party on X are actually Americans who can vote.
Also Tuesday, Trump again praised the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he established in January to investigate fraud and waste in the government. DOGE was initially headed by Musk before his departure.
“You can always second guess,” Trump said, referring to DOGE’s cuts across the federal government. “I guess some of the people in this room maybe would have done it slightly differently. And some would have done it exactly the way it was done.”
However, Trump signaled that if Musk wasn’t involved in DOGE’s efforts, he would have “done it differently a little bit maybe,” referring to the cuts.
“The president was very, very kind to him, and Elon had so much to offer us. He knew things we didn’t know. He knew people and technologies that we didn’t know. It was a great thing when it was a great thing and had a very, I think, a very troublesome ending,” Wiles said, referring to Musk.
Wiles added that she “enjoyed working with Elon” and described him as a “fascinating person and sees the world differently.”