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Elon Musk says he's launching a new political party. The announcement follows the billionaire's explosive breakup with President Trump last month. The rift between Trump and Musk has been growing since Congress passed Trump's domestic policy law. NPR's Bobby Allyn takes a look at what's driving Musk to create what he's calling the America Party.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Musk says this new political party would cater to the 80% of voters who are in the middle. Political scientist Lee Drutman with the liberal New America think tank says that could have appeal.
LEE DRUTMAN: He has some positions that would be better on the left, some positions that would be better on the right. He's kind of just antisystem. So there's not a lot that holds his political beliefs together, and that's true for a lot of Americans who feel disaffected with the existing two-party system.
ALLYN: But it's not 80% of voters. A Pew survey recently found that about a third of voters say they're politically independent, and even then, most of them lean toward one of the parties, so even fewer could be considered middle of the road. But would this coalition really rally behind Musk? The party's platform remains sketchy. Musk has written on X that it would be pro-Second Amendment, hoping to appeal to gun rights supporters. It would embrace bitcoin, free speech and reduce the national debt and spending, a nod to his time leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
DRUTMAN: This is pretty standard libertarian stuff. I think if he is going to invest lots of money in candidates and attack the Republican Party, could be enough to decide a handful of close Senate and House elections.
ALLYN: Musk didn't respond to a request for comment. As one of the richest people in the world, who spent hundreds of millions to bankroll Trump's reelection campaign, his promise could be serious, but Musk has yet to file official paperwork on the America Party. And many Musk ideas remain just that - fanciful ideas. If it does become a reality, one challenge, says Drutman, will be history.
DRUTMAN: Like most third parties before him, third parties are just wasted votes and spoilers.
ALLYN: Then there's Musk's image issue. In polls, Musk's favorability rating only dropped the longer he stayed in the White House. When he weighed into a Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April, the backlash against his presence helped propel the anti-Musk candidate to victory. Bobby Allyn, NPR News.
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