WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump called on Sunday “ridiculous” Elon Musk’s plans to form a new political party, launching new barbs against the technology billionaire and saying that the musk ally he named NASA would have presented a conflict of interest, given the commercial interests of Musk in space.
A day after Musk intensified his dispute with Trump and announced the formation of a new political party in the US, the Republican president was asked about it before embarking on Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, while returning to Washington after visiting his nearby golf club.
“I think it’s ridiculous to create a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. Democrats have lost their way, but it has always been a bipartisan system, and I think creating a third party only increases confusion,” Trump told reporters. “It looks like it was really developed for two parties. Third parties never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”
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Shortly after talking about Musk, Trump posted other comments on his social Truth platform, saying, “I’m sad to see Elon Musk completely get out of track.” Musk announced on Saturday that he is creating the America Party in response to Trump’s tax and spending bill, which, according to Musk, will lead the country to bankruptcy.
“What was the goal of @doge if he will only increase debt by $ 5 trillion?” Musk wrote on Sunday, referring to the government size reduction agency he led for a brief period. Critics say the bill will impair the US economy by significantly increasing the federal budget deficit.
Musk said his new party, in the mid -term elections next year, will try to dismiss Republican parliamentarians from Congress who supported the comprehensive measure known as the “big and beautiful bill.”
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Musk spent millions of dollars to finance Trump’s reelection effort in 2024 and, for a while, appeared regularly next to the president at the White House Oval Hall and elsewhere. The disagreement between them about the spending bill led to a disagreement that Musk tried to fix it briefly, without success.
Trump said Musk is dissatisfied because the measure, which Trump sanctioned as law on Friday, removes green energy credits for Tesla’s electric vehicles. The president threatened to remove billions of dollars that Tesla and Spacex receive government contracts and subsidies in response to Musk’s criticism.
“Inappropriate” appointment
In his social networking comments, Trump also said he was “inappropriate” to appoint Jared Isaacman, Musk’s ally, as NASA’s administrator, considering Musk’s business with the space agency. In December, Trump appointed Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, to lead NASA, but removed his appointment on May 31, before his senate confirmation vote and without explanation.
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Trump, who has not yet announced a new nominee for NASA, confirmed on Sunday media reports that he disapproved of Isaacman’s previous support to Democratic politicians.
“I also found it inappropriate that a friend very close to Elon, who was in the space field, would drive NASA when NASA is such an important part of Elon’s corporate life,” Trump said on Truth Social. “My number one task is to protect the US population!”
(James Oliphant report in Washington and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California)
