Trump Slams Musk’s Political Ambitions as “Ridiculous” in Harsh Rebuke

President Donald Trump issued a sharp rebuke of Elon Musk on Saturday, dismissing the tech mogul’s effort to launch a third political party as “ridiculous” and claiming such movements “have never worked.”

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump was asked about Musk’s initiative to form a new party. “I think it’s ridiculous to create a third party,” Trump said from the tarmac. “We’ve had tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it has always been a two-party system, and I think creating a third party just adds confusion.”

“It really seems to have been developed for two parties,” the president added. “Third parties have never worked. So he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”

Trump’s comments came hours after Musk announced on his social media platform X the formation of a new political entity called the “America Party.” The billionaire entrepreneur framed the move as a response to what he called a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people.

The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll posted by Musk on X, in which he asked voters whether they wanted to break away from what he described as the “two-party (some say one-party) system.” Over 1.2 million votes were cast, with 65.4 percent responding “yes.”

“By a 2 to 1 margin, you want a new political party, and you shall have it,” Musk wrote on Saturday. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and corruption, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. The America Party is formed today to restore your freedom.”

Shortly after his comments to reporters, Trump took to Truth Social to further express concern over Musk’s direction and to hint at what may have led to their political split.

“I am saddened to see how Elon Musk has completely gone off the rails and become a wreck over the past five weeks. He even wants to create a Third Political Party, even though they have never succeeded in the United States. The system doesn’t seem designed for them,” Trump wrote. “All Third Parties do is create TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISRUPTION AND CHAOS, and we already have plenty of that from the Radical Left Democrats who have lost both trust and reason.”

“The Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth-running machine that just passed the largest Bill of its kind in the history of our Country,” Trump continued. “It is a Great Bill, but unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an electric car in a short period of time.”

Trump has long opposed an electric vehicle mandate and emphasized that the new legislation gives consumers the freedom to choose the type of vehicle they prefer, whether electric, gas-powered, or hybrid.

“I’ve been campaigning on this for two years and, frankly, when Elon gave me his full and unconditional endorsement, I asked him if he knew I was going to end the EV Mandate. It was in every speech I gave and every conversation I had,” Trump said. “He said he had no problem with it, which really surprised me.”

Trump also criticized Musk for lobbying to appoint a close friend to lead NASA, claiming the individual was a “blue-blood Democrat” who had never supported a Republican.

“I also found it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon’s, who was in the space business, would run NASA when NASA is such a significant part of Elon’s corporate interests,” Trump added. “My main mission is to protect the American people.”

Musk’s decision to launch a new political party follows his vocal disapproval of Trump’s $3.3 trillion legislative package, which was signed into law Friday at the White House. The sweeping bill includes tax cuts, infrastructure investments, and economic stimulus measures. It has drawn criticism from fiscal conservatives and libertarians. While Musk did not directly mention the legislation in his posts, the timing suggests escalating tensions between the two high-profile figures.

According to Musk’s statements, the new party plans to target key congressional seats with the aim of creating a voting bloc strong enough to balance power in Washington and curb what he sees as excesses from both Republicans and Democrats.

Historically, third parties have struggled to gain traction in the U.S. political system, which is built around two dominant parties. With the Electoral College, winner-take-all elections, and restrictive ballot access laws, political outsiders face significant challenges. Even when a third-party candidate gains momentum, their impact rarely lasts beyond a single election cycle.

One of the most notable recent efforts came from Ross Perot, who ran as an independent in 1992 and captured nearly 19 percent of the popular vote, but failed to win a single electoral vote. That remains the closest any third-party candidate has come to the White House since President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1912 run against his former protégé, William Howard Taft.

Others, such as Ralph Nader with the Green Party and Gary Johnson with the Libertarian Party, have also mounted campaigns, but none have come close to winning the presidency.