United States President Donald Trump on Sunday described former ally Elon Musk’s launching of a new political party as “ridiculous”, deepening the Republican’s feud with the man who was once his biggest backer.
Trump also described the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon as a “train wreck” who had gone “off the rails” after Musk said he wanted to challenge the current US political system.
The world’s richest man was nearly inseparable from Trump as he led the cost-cutting “Department of Government Efficiency”, but they had a major disagreement over the president’s “big beautiful” tax and spending bill.
“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party,” Trump told reporters before he boarded Air Force One on his way back to Washington from his New Jersey golf club.
“It’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. Third parties have never worked. So he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous,” he said.
Musk, who was born in South Africa, declared on Saturday that he will form the “America Party” to challenge what he called the United States’ “one-party system”.
Musk claims that the president’s large domestic spending proposal would explode the US debt, and he has promised to do everything in his power to defeat politicians who voted for it.
The former DOGE chief, who oversaw a massive push to reduce federal spending and job losses, compared Trump’s Republicans to the Democrats on domestic spending.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk posted on X.
Musk provided little information about his idea, and it was unclear whether he had registered the party with US electoral authorities, but it might cause problems for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections—and beyond.
In a sign of how sensitive the topic may be for Trump, he used his Truth Social network while remaining on Air Force One to press down on his attacks on Musk.
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails’, essentially becoming a train wreck over the past five weeks,” Trump posted.
“The one thing third parties are good for is the creation of complete and total disruption and chaos, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats.”
Earlier on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticised Musk’s ambitions to enter politics, asking him to focus on operating his businesses.
When asked by CNN if Musk’s idea upset the Trump administration, Bessent issued a barely veiled criticism.
“I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone,” Bessent said.
“So I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.”
Musk quit DOGE in May to focus solely on his corporate responsibilities, with Tesla’s sales and image suffering as a result of his brief stint in Trump’s inner circle.
Trump offered him a big send-off in the Oval Office, where Musk arrived with a black eye and was presented with a golden key to the White House by the president.
However, just days later, the two were exchanging furious comments on social media after Musk criticised Trump’s flagship spending package.
On Sunday, Trump declined to comment on whether he would ask Musk to return the golden key.
