Politics

Elon Musk finally launches America Party - and the irony isn’t lost on people

Related video: Trump says he'll look at deporting Elon Musk

Fox - Ktvu / VideoElephant

Elon Musk was once US president Donald Trump’s closest adviser and backer, what with him heading up the Department of Government Efficiency and throwing a considerable amount of support behind him during last year’s presidential campaign, but after leaving the administration at the end of May, things have since become a lot more complicated between Musk and his former boss.

Since then, the pair have engaged in a public feud on social media, Musk has voiced his opposition to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (which has since passed in Congress) and Trump has said he would “take a look” at deporting Musk – who was born in South Africa – from the US.

And now, Musk has followed through on his threat to set up his own political party if the “insane” One Big Beautiful Bill passed, announcing the formation of the America Party on Saturday (5 July) following yet another Twitter/X poll.

He told his followers on Friday (4 July): “Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?

“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just two or three Senate seats and eight 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.”

The poll ended with more than 65 per cent voting ‘yes’, and more than 34 per cent voting no.

 

Commenting on the results a day later, he wrote: “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.

“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

He added the party is “going to crack the uniparty system” by applying “extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield”.

Except social media users have pointed out a number of problems surrounding Musk’s announcement, including the “staggering” irony of a man born in South Africa launching the America Party:

 

Musk is a US citizen, by the way – he became one in 2002.

Elsewhere, satirical Twitter account greg mocked the small number of votes cast in the poll (more than 1.2 million votes), and how this is quite a way off from the total US population of more than 340 million:

 

Oh, and it was noted that the poll “was not limited to Americans” either:

 

There were also concerns about a third party ‘splitting the vote’:

 

It’s quite the awkward start for Musk and the party, which is yet to announce its leader.

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