Donald Trump ridicules Elon Musk's ‘America Party’, says ‘US functions best under a two-party system’

A day after Elon Musk announced that he is planning to starting a new political party, President Donald Trump ridiculed the idea noting that ‘the United States functions best under a two-party system.’

"I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. 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," Trump told reporters. "It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous."

Musk announced on Saturday that he is establishing the "America Party" in response to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which Musk said would bankrupt the country.

The Tesla didn’t provide details of the political party and there’s no immediate indication that he has filed official paperwork. He made the announcement on his X social network after sharing a poll in which 65% of respondents supported forming an “America Party.” He indicated the new party would in next year's midterm elections look to unseat Republican lawmakers in Congress who backed the sweeping measure known as the "big, beautiful bill."

In May, Musk abruptly parted ways with the administration following a dramatic fallout with Trump, bringing an end to his leadership of the federal spending-cut initiative under the Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump amplified his comments in a post on his Truth Social network later Sunday, saying he was “saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails’” over the past five weeks. Trump also touted his budget package that “unfortunately for Elon” eliminates the electric vehicle subsidy.

Musk has called Trump’s spending bill “insane,” criticized the package for giving “handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,” and for raising the federal debt ceiling by $5 trillion.

(With inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg)