'Ridiculous': Trump reacts to Musk's new political party.
'Ridiculous': Trump reacts to Musk's new political party
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| Credit: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) |
President Donald Trump has responded to news that Elon Musk is starting his own political party, calling the endeavour "ridiculous."
SEE ALSO:Elon Musk launches 'America Party' as a pro-tech alternative to the two-party system
"I think it's ridiculous to start a third party," Trump said on Sunday. "We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion."
The U.S. does technically have more than two political parties, with other parties including the Green Party and Libertarians. However, the Democratic and Republican parties overwhelmingly dominate, resulting in a two-party system.
"Third parties have never worked," Trump continued. "So he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous."
Trump also addressed the matter via his Truth Social account, again claiming that the Tesla CEO is upset with him for ending an alleged "EV mandate." Despite Trump's claims of an EV mandate "which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time," no such law has ever existed. However, Trump has dismantled incentives encouraging adoption of electric vehicles, including a $7,500 tax credit for drivers who buy a new EV.
"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks," Trump posted (emphasis original). "He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States."
Musk announced his new "America Party" on Saturday, after running a poll on X asking whether he should create it. Of the 1.2 million respondents, approximately 65 percent answered in the affirmative.
"When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy," Musk posted to X. The billionaire has repeatedly characterised the Democratic and Republican parties as being functionally identical. "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom."
What are Musk's plans for the America Party?
Musk has already offered some insight into his potential strategy for the America Party, which apparently won't be aiming for the office of president quite yet.
"The way we’re going to crack the uniparty system is by using a variant of how Epaminondas shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility at Leuctra: Extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield," he posted on Saturday.
Epaminondas was an ancient Greek general who was instrumental in the Thebans' victory against the Spartans during the Battle of Leuctra. His strategy involved creating a column of his strongest soldiers around 50 fighters deep, who essentially speared through the Spartans' phalanx and smashed it apart.
Interestingly, Epaminondas' column was fronted by the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite unit of 300 gay men in 150 couples. As it currently stands, it seems unlikely that the pink vote will be leading Musk's political charge. The billionaire has been widely criticised regarding his views on LGBTQA issues, with hate speech on Twitter (now X) reportedly surging after he took control of the platform.
"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 posted to X. "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."
Musk previously threatened to start the new "America Party" last week, expressing his disapproval of Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" and declaring that he would form a new political party if it passed. This spending bill ultimately did pass, with Trump signing it into law on Friday, July 4.
Musk cannot run for president himself, as he is not a "natural born Citizen" of the U.S. as required under the Constitution. Even so, the richest man in the world has already demonstrated there are a myriad other ways a billionaire can make his will known in U.S. politics. Having his own political party will be yet another tool in his belt.
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The carrot-face looks very happy about this idea. 🤣🤣🤣
ReplyDeleteIt means he's very nervous!😁😄🤣
ReplyDeletenot fucken likely.
DeleteIt will be as successful as the Tea Party was
ReplyDeletesadly the tea party was very successful in quite a few areas of the country, especially local and state politics.
DeleteWhat's the point when we all know Trump is going to declare one political party?
ReplyDeletehttps://giphy.com/gifs/StandupNFLD-newfoundland-standupnfld-twoidiotscomedy-7Mxu0RVa5ii79iKHLn
ReplyDeletehttps://mantra.bhaktimarga.org?u=9199990669626
ReplyDeleteYou would not have won without him doing whatever he did to help you. He said it himself. Who knows exactly what he did. And if the others millions would have actually voted instead of sitting on their butts you would not have won either
ReplyDeleteyep he did. He spilled the beans
DeleteMaking America a laughing stock.
ReplyDeleteIt already is.
DeleteWhy not trade one maniac for another
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly are they afraid of? That an entrepreneur dares to disrupt their political comfort zone? Or that a man who doesn’t need their funding might expose their limits and unravel their game of influence?
ReplyDeleteIt is totally ridiculous but no more so than Trump being the president lol
ReplyDelete💩💩
ReplyDeleteThe republicans don't stand for anything except their leader. We need a party of independent thinkers.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've been hearing; Republicans are being blackmailed to follow trump and Democrats have presented a feeble front in trying to stop trump from axing programs, withholding funds, appointing morons in high offices, and getting away with his criminal ways. Some Americans may be open to something new.
ReplyDeleteTrump running scared
ReplyDeleteIf it got his attention to respond, it means he feels intimidated, otherwise why bother calling it a "ridiculous idea"?
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think it’s a good idea.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a great fucking idea. Except for Elon. But maybe he can fuck this up too.
DeleteElon Musk and Mark Cuban, doubt this party will last without MAGA cultists
DeleteCuban Musk was my granddad’s favourite cologne.
DeleteCan’t wait for both of those idiots to lose all their money.
DeleteMy uncle called it fromunda.
DeleteSantorum 2.0
DeleteRemember when Santorum became a meme for poop in 2003? That was funny.
DeleteNot just poop, but as defined by Dan Savage: “the frothy mixture of lube, semen, and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex.”
DeleteAny spoiling of MAGA party is great in my book.
Deletepersonally i hope he gets defrauded for billions
DeleteIt's all fun and games when the side you don't agree with has vote splitting. Careful what you wish for.
DeleteI remember being happy trump won the republican nomination back in 16 because there was no way he would win the general election. I mean, America is not that dumb.
DeleteHe certainly has released the ugliness that used to lay contained within American society.
DeleteSomehow he manages to get democrats vote for them. We can't have anything good in this timeline.
DeleteYou should think for yourself instead of basing your opinion on someone else's opinion. Trumps right. Billionaires shouldn't be in politics.
DeleteWhat are you obviously ain't too bright
DeleteThird parties usually struggle because Republicans and Democrats put up a number of monetary barriers to stop them from gaining traction.
ReplyDeleteMusk wouldn't have that problem.
Money is a big problem in US politics, yes. Part of the reason the two parties have such a stranglehold is because that's where most of the money gets channeled. The only way to go outside it generally is to either be self-funded by being stupidly rich yourself, or to similarly have deep-pocketed donors. Bernie Sanders was something of a rare exception, because he was able to harness crowdsourced funding. But by and large, funding has a huge grip on who can and can't run.
DeleteMusk has other problems. And he changes his mind rather a lot.
Deleteelmo will drag as many voters away as he can, only to sell them back to the highest bidder.
DeleteAnd why not? He literally bought votes in public and we didn't do anything to stop, or punish him. The american government is available for public auction.
I'm remembering stories of him taking uhauls of people to California to door knock for votes, then threatening to not return, feed or house them unless they met quotas. I could see him collecting votes and selling them and then not delivering them either.
DeleteStable third parties are nearly impossible here because of Duverger's Law. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law) If it goes Elon's way, it'll just end up replacing the Republican Party, and we'll still be stuck with two super-polarized parties.
DeleteDuverger’s law is a dead parrot.https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2012/06/20/duvergers-law-is-dead/
DeleteThird parties struggle because our system of election is first past the post. FPTP only allows for two parties because the third party becomes a spoiler. Elon musk could create a party ordained be George Washington and Jesus Christ and it will still fail under FPTP. He needs to lay the groundwork before creating a third party. This means passing Ranked Choice voting in as many states as possible.
Delete
DeleteThis is a common misconception.
For instance, Canada has FPTP and has always had more than two active parties. India also has FPTP and has more than a dozen parties. Even the US House prior to WWII tended to have more than two parties.
The problem is in the US Republicans and Democrats create many of the rules governing third parties. So, they gate-keep and make it as hard as possible for them to run, usually with financial pressures.
musk has an opportunity to overcome those pressures but no doubt will still fail as Republicans and Democrats find other ways to constrain him.
It will probably work out the same way as in the last general election in the UK. Nigel Farage’s Reform party succeeded in taking votes away from the Conservative Party and splitting the right-wing votes. Labour won by a landslide, the Conservatives lost a high number of their seats and Reform ended up with only a handful of the 635 parliamentary seats. If Musk sets up a party, it will be to get revenge against Trump.
Delete"Starting a third party just adds to confusion..."
ReplyDeleteDonald knows quite well how intellectually taxing it can be to consider three different options instead of only two. Math is hard!
My favorite part is the implication that there was already some confusion with two.
Delete"In fact, some people are coming up to me with tears in their eyes and saying Sir, we already have too many parties."
DeleteNot nearly as ridiculous as a stupid, lying, cheating, criminal, treasonous rapist like Trump residing in the White House and pontificating on a whole range of topics about which he knows nothing.
ReplyDeleteWell Musk did say he would fund rival politicians to replace any Republicans who voted for the BBB. Enough of them voted for it to form a new political party and the Republicans removed all the laws preventing this type of thing. So here we are in this state of ridiculousness.
ReplyDeleteIt's also ridiculous that a 34x felon and failed businessman/reality show host is president.
ReplyDeleteSee that Musk/Trump ceasefire didn’t last too long
ReplyDeleteMusk apologized a few times and Trump ignored him, so he took the nuclear option. Classic narcissist move.
DeleteI mean it’s ridiculous for a convicted fascist traitor to be president so it’s a bit late to quibble.
ReplyDeleteI bet a million dollars musk will tailor the message to try to divide the left instead of trying to divide the right. He'll spend millions to Ross Perot the left. He's a snake and a racist who answers to Putin .
ReplyDeleteMusk's pettiness is aimed at trump, he will be dividing the right.
DeleteDoubt it, it's a drug fueled personal vendetta, call it what it is.
DeleteIf he pushes hard on green energy, demands science & education be back to the forefront instead of buried under all this war on academia and medicine bullshit, he'd have a swinging chance to split the left, rather than the right. All his tech requires cutting edge research to stay on top, so never say never. It's a terrible timeline, expect all things that can go wrong to go wrong.
DeleteIt’s ridiculous that Trump is allowed to be in a political party.
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous for a child rapist to campaign for presidency. Yet here we are because the world is verifiably ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI was gonna make a Constitutional argument about why this is a bad idea, but then I just remember that our government isn't really binding itself to that anymore, so what's the point?
ReplyDeleteThis take you’re having is exactly what they want.
DeleteWhatever comes out of this is unlikely to resemble our previous government. I adhere to my oath to the constitution, but I recognize that it's ultimately just paper.
DeleteWho does Peter Thiel go with in this schism? That's what we need to worry about.
ReplyDeleteMusk, obviously. Thiel, like Musk, believes he's "transcended" being a member of the human species.
DeleteThey used to hate each other, from what I remember, when Musk was bought out from PayPal. Thiel bought Vance, and Musk tried to buy Trump.
DeleteI'm pretty sure Musk is not actually a member of the human species.
DeleteThat's going to be an issue for JD Vance.
DeleteJD's loyalty lies wherever his master says it does.
DeleteIf a Hollywood writer pitched a script about Trump's political "career", it would be called ridiculous by every producer who heard it.
ReplyDeleteWho’s going to be the Presidential candidate under the America Party?
ReplyDeleteI still haven't forgotten about the nazi salute.
ReplyDeleteIt was ridiculous when you let him make DOGE. I hope he ends the gop.
ReplyDeleteAs wise, politically competent and overall trusted performer he is, the Orange Donnie should definitely be trusted in his judgements!!! Hence, Musk's party will succeed!!!
ReplyDeleteTrump sounds scared
ReplyDeleteIfusk gets a few candidates maga will fall.
ReplyDeleteNo fan of Musk, but we must rid ourselves of maga
If Trump thinks it’s a bad idea….then it must be a good idea. Anything that splits the GOP is a good thing.
ReplyDeletePersonally I’m in favor of anything that can potentially divide and therefore weaken the Republican Party.
ReplyDeleteIt was also ridiculous for Trump to run for President.
ReplyDeleteoh well if Trump says it...
ReplyDeleteThe girls are at it again!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was ridiculous for a rapist, pedophile, con man, insurrectionist to lead the Republicans again. But here we are.
ReplyDeleteYou can smell the fear.
ReplyDeletePot. Kettle. Black.
ReplyDeleteCome on Ross Perot. Rooting for you buddy.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he can resurrect Ross Perot.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to watch them fighting but it's all just more stupid.
ReplyDeleteWell Don it was ridiculous for you to go into politics but here we are
ReplyDeletelet them fight!
ReplyDeleteMuskrat should go full attack on Dumpy
Do it! Make your own party!
ReplyDeleteIt’s ridiculous that he’s president… and that Elon paid for it.
ReplyDeleteWhy can’t they just evaporate?
What if trump dies tomorrow, would maga flock to musk?
ReplyDeleteIf it starts to gain any popularity, Trump will declare “ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” and probably have his inJustice Department go after musk and eventually ‘remigrate’ him
ReplyDeleteIt's very telling that he has not once threatened to revoke his legal status. Meanwhile, in NYC.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that both the GOP and Dems are no longer recognizable.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great, except for the Elon part.
All the America First shit, they gonna actually do!
ReplyDeleteHe is an expert on ridiculousness.
ReplyDeletemusk himself won't be running. It will be interesting to see how mass media portrays Candidate X in local and national elections. Will mass media portray these X candidates as populists to siphon off votes from Democrats? They have the ability to obfuscate that these are musk candidates, and will ultimately tilt the scales in the Republican candidate's favor.
ReplyDeleteEither way, while trump is a Russian asset, musk is both a Russian https://apnews.com/article/musk-putin-x-trump-tesla-election-russia-9cecb7cb0f23ccce49336771280ae179
and Chinese https://www.vox.com/world-politics/404621/elon-musk-china-tesla-trump
asset, and this new political party will be a trojan horse for Manchurian candidates.
I'm not sure a Classy Gentleman like Trump really has a handle on what is "Ridiculous"! I say that based on his sense of "Décor" and his sense of "Decency" which both seem a little far off from reality.
ReplyDeleteThese two are probably just colluding to create a spoiler faction. They worry about the Democrats.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if you're a billionaire you should appropriate an existing party rather than start a new one.
ReplyDeleteHe can just take over the Green Party. I mean they're into EV's, solar and that sort of thing... 🤣
ReplyDeleteIs it the “apartheid party” or the “axis party”? It’s definitely not the “america party”.
ReplyDeleteMusk should be in prison
ReplyDeleteMusk doesn’t like doing anything, just dumb names.
ReplyDeleteFunny coming from someone who basically reshaped a whole party around himself. Guess there's only room for one disruptor at a time
ReplyDeleteElon musk is trying to take votes away from the Democrats he's not a Democrat he's a snake he's a republican he just like Trump it's a scam they've come up with the weekend of the democratic party and if anybody can't see foot they need to see a mental doctor
ReplyDeleteLet a thousand flowers bloom. This is becoming absurd. I am in favor of whatever shows the emperor has no clothing. In this case the emperor is the so called two party system. We are not a democracy. We are an oligarchic state with totally delusional, tin pot leaders, with the same level of intellectual curiosity as North Korea.
ReplyDeleteHey I actually agree with Trump on something.
ReplyDeleteIf musk gives the party massive funding it's a problem for Republican and Dems . Maybe they will bipartisan agree on it lol
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure in the sense of democrats supporting it. I think they dislike musk and trump, well both them and the republican party. And it won't be easily forgotten what damage musk has done.
DeleteWith that said, they will probably pull republicans and possibly a bunch of centrist independents. I do think given the bill, a bunch of republicans are probably upset with some of what's going on. So perhaps this new one they will end up supporting.
For once, taco king is correct.
ReplyDeleteNow if only leftists could muster enough organization and courage to split the democrats, we might actually see some real realignment.
ReplyDeleteBecause you want to lose allies?
DeleteWhat allies? Liberals fight the left harder than the right does.
DeleteUm, if you expect to alienate everyone who is on the left but not radical enough for you -- you won't win.
DeleteLiberals aren't on the left. And people in my camp have supported the Democratic party for decades, in spite of them not being on the left because "the other guy is worse." Well, now the "worse other guy" is an outright fascist, and democrats have shown they'd still rather that than a leftist in office.
DeleteDid you notice that Bernie Sanders did not win a Presidential nomination?
DeleteI am a lifelong Democrat and did not vote for Trump.
You have to face up to the fact that many Republican Americans wanted the things Trump promised. They are sure prosperity is just around the corner. Immigrants will free up jobs (that Americans don't want, but conservative voters don't think of that). The removal of birth control (Project 2025) will push women out of the workforce. And those women will get to have a man support them while they do crafts all day! White men will have all the great jobs! *Of course* manufacturing jobs will come back to the US! And if anyone is unhealthy it is their own fault!
Republican voters believe that stuff. And they still think it will happen.
ETA: Biden promised universal free Pre-K, something you probably want? He didn't do it because he was not a dictator and couldn't magically make it happen. And now it won't because there will be an even larger budget deficit than there was in 2024.
"Did you notice that Bernie Sanders did not win a Presidential nomination?"
DeleteYep. Did you notice he got 60% of the coverage of either other candidate in 2016, and that democrats worked with the media to help Hillary and hurt him? Of course not.
"I am a lifelong Democrat and did not vote for Trump."
Good for you?
"You have to face up to the fact that many Republican Americans wanted the things Trump promised."
Irrelevant; this is about what the democratic party has done. Republicans are gonna vote for evil, it's just who they are. Democrats claim to be better.
"Biden promised universal free Pre-K, something you probably want? He didn't do it because he was not a dictator and couldn't magically make it happen."
Democrats say they support a lot of things that they end up giving up on as soon as they win. That is, in fact, one of the major reasons they have a sub-30% approval rating right now. If I had to come up with a short phrase to describe Democrats since the Clinton era in the 90s, it would be "Talk/Campaign center-left, govern right". And decades of that has come home to bite them in the ass hard. If they keep doubling down, they'll continue to lose.
If you don't have a platform that most Democrats will support, you will lose. End of.
DeleteIt's not all about you; there are other groups with other needs.
There is zero chance of me to voting for Trump's brand of GOP and I cannot see myself voting AOC's democrat. If Musk puts up anyone never affiliated with Trump and he probably has my vote...
ReplyDeleteElon could create the businessmen's party, a party in which several of Elon's competent friends would fill the positions. If Elon, who is a successful businessman and has friends who are also successful, runs several companies, I have no doubt that these same people would able to run a country.
ReplyDelete