Tech mogul Elon Musk‘s public breakup with President Donald Trump and threat to form a new political party should be taken seriously amid frustrations among the MAGA base, according to top Republicans.
There are fears among some Republican lawmakers that the world’s richest man could use his endless pockets to drive a wedge among conservatives with an “America Party,” a third party that Musk says would focus on smaller government and slashing the deficit in response to Trump’s signature tax cut and spending bill.
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ELON MUSK’S ‘AMERICA PARTY’ PROPOSAL — COULD IT WORK?
“There’s going to be an audience for that,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told the Washington Examiner. “I would take him very seriously if I were the leadership of the Republican Party.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who largely aligned with Musk’s frustration that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act failed to address Washington’s spending habits, put little stock in Musk’s ability to lead a successful political party but feared it could ultimately help Democrats. Johnson voted for the sprawling legislation, which Trump signed into law on July 4 and is projected to add more than $3 trillion to the national debt over a decade, per some estimates that the White House disputes.
“Unfortunately, if he does this, it’s going to split fiscal conservatives and probably help elect Democrats, who have no fiscal control or a desire to reduce the deficit,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner. “It’ll be, unfortunately, counterproductive, as much as I appreciate Elon Musk’s contribution to this fight.”
Musk’s suggestion that he was on the cusp of a third-party effort to break up what he calls the “uniparty” system in the U.S. was batted down by Trump to reporters as “ridiculous.” In a subsequent Truth Social post, he said it would create “Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS.”
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” the president added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), a possible future White House contender, also agreed that the America Party could backfire by helping Democrats.
But naturally, not everyone is so convinced. Musk would have to ultimately field viable candidates and qualify for ballots, a historically arduous process for third parties that so far appears fairly abstract, despite his willingness in the 2024 elections to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into politics.
Musk, the Trump friend-turned-foe, is attempting to tap into Republican frustration with the administration’s handling of current events beyond the president’s domestic policy bill, including the recent U.S. airstrikes in Iran and continued support for Ukraine.
Tensions have again mounted in the MAGA world among those who were eager to uncover what they say was a conspiracy behind the death of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has concluded that a “client list” of the notorious and disgraced financier never existed.
“How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?” Musk posted on Tuesday.
There are other Republicans who acknowledge Musk’s influence over the party platform, the media with his ownership of X, and his wealth, but don’t view him as a legitimate threat.
“I have respect for him as an entrepreneur, but as a political figure, I’m not really concerned about what he does,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), an adviser to leadership, told the Washington Examiner.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) declined to entertain a question on Musk’s latest venture.
Lummis included a caveat to her view that Musk should be taken seriously, adding that he’s likely only to do damage to Republican primaries.
“It’s probably not going to be enough to fundamentally change the direction of the two-party system, but I do think it’s going to be potentially enough to cause some problems in Republican primaries,” she said.
DESANTIS WARNS MUSK THAT FORMATION OF AMERICA PARTY COULD BACKFIRE
Musk, the founder of Tesla and the former head of the Trump administration’s DOGE cost-cutting agency, suggested his party could take a narrower approach to influence strategic House and Senate seats that could serve as the “deciding vote on contentious laws.”
“I think you always take competition serious,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said. “And if it’s competition for Republicans, you should never ignore it. You always take it serious. That’s the way you win elections, is you don’t ignore anybody out there.”