Former Trump aide Steve Bannon tore into Elon Musk on Friday after the billionaire backed the creation of a new political party.
Earlier this week, Musk announced he would help launch the “America Party” as an alternative to Republicans and Democrats if Congress passed President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. One day after its passage, the Tesla owner is following through on his threat.
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Bannon called Musk a “buffoon” for suggesting such an idea and polling his followers on whether there should be a new third party.
“The foul, the buffoon. Elmo the Mook, formerly known as Elon Musk, Elmo the Mook. He’s today, in another smear, and this — only a foreigner could do this — think about it, he’s got up on, he’s got up on Twitter right now, a poll about starting an America Party, a non-American starting an America Party,” Bannon said on his War Room podcast, reiterating his call for Musk’s deportation.
“No, brother, you’re not an American. You’re a South African,” he added. “We take enough time and prove the facts of that; you should be deported because it’s a crime of what you did, among many.”
Born in South Africa, Musk became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2002.
Musk posted the poll that Bannon referenced on Independence Day, which he said was the “perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system.”
So far, the majority of X users who voted in the poll support the creation of an “America Party.”
“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts. 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,” he wrote.
Bannon and Musk have repeatedly criticized each other for months, but tensions between them reignited after Musk feuded with the Trump administration over Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” The tech mogul particularly disliked the legislation because it would add an estimated $3.4 trillion to the national budget deficit over the next decade.
Republicans and the White House dispute those projections and tout the spending bill as a viable measure to cut taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits.
Trump signed the bill in the Oval Office on Friday after taking a victory lap in Iowa the night before.
Earlier this week, Musk suggested Bannon was “going back to prison … for a long time.” Bannon spent four months in prison last year for defying a congressional subpoena when a House select committee was investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress.
Despite serving as the symbolic head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk now finds himself outside Trump’s inner circle. He departed the temporary position in late May.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, the billionaire backed Trump with over $250 million. Now, he’s threatening to take his money elsewhere.
While he is floating the idea of a possible new political party, the Libertarian Party has expressed interest in joining forces with Musk. The nation’s third-largest political party said Musk would have trouble starting the “America Party” because it would have to build up its ballot access in all 50 states, which poses a challenge for new third-party efforts.
ELON MUSK DIGS IN ON NEW POLITICAL PARTY THREAT AFTER TAX BILL PASSAGE
The Libertarian Party also welcomes Musk’s financial support, considering it only receives between $1 million and $3 million for its yearly budget.
“Making a new third party would be a mistake,” Libertarian Party national chairman Steven Nekhaila told Politico this week. “The Libertarian Party is the most set-up party to be the dissident subversive party.”