"Today, the formation of the America Party returns your freedom." On July 5th, Elon Musk posted this declaration on the X platform, officially declaring war on the U.S. two-party system. This Silicon Valley maverick, who once waved a chainsaw and shouted "cutting through bureaucracy," first tried to establish the Department of Government Efficiency this year in an attempt to reform Washington from within, but was defeated in internal struggles and left in disgrace. Now he is trying to set up a third party outside the two major parties to continue fighting against the current state of the U.S. political scene. Can he succeed?
On July 4th, the American Independence Day, Musk launched an online vote asking Americans whether they wanted to "break away" from the status quo of the Democratic and Republican parties taking turns in power. Nearly 1.25 million people participated in the vote, with over 65% expressing support. The next day, Musk "obeyed public opinion" and announced the establishment of the "America Party," and "targeted" the Congress elections marking the 250th anniversary of the United States next year. When Musk left the White House in May, he said he would shift his focus back to business, but only a month later, he again entered the political arena and started a new initiative.
Next year's election as an opponent?
Legislators caught in the middle, struggling
The trigger for Musk's return was the large-scale tax reform bill signed by Trump on July 4th. This bill, which Trump called "big and beautiful," Democrats called "big and ugly," and Musk referred to as the "debt slavery act." For legislators with differing opinions, both Trump and Musk used political threats. Trump specifically warned Republican Senator Tom Tillis that he would find someone to replace him in the next mid-term election; Musk showed a Pinocchio poster, saying he would write the names of legislators who voted for the bill on it, making them unable to pass the primary next year. Republican legislators found themselves caught between the president's "cleansing" and the billionaire's financial pressure, truly "caught between a rock and a hard place."
This time, unlike when he first entered the White House in January, where he demanded cutting budgets of one or two trillion dollars, Musk's strategy is more "conservative." He claims the "America Party" will first look for districts where the Democratic and Republican parties are weak, aiming to win 2 to 3 seats in the Senate and 8 to 10 seats in the House of Representatives next year, becoming a key minority. After all, the "big and beautiful" bill passed by the Senate and House by extremely narrow margins, so if Musk can control a few seats, he will have the power to decide who wins when the Democratic and Republican parties fight each other.
Technological enthusiast overturning the U.S. political scene?
His AI large model has a different opinion
Can he really do it? The editor asked Musk's large model Grok, and after thinking for 39 seconds, it replied that there are "uncertainties in the future and a low possibility of success." Although Musk has a net worth of over $40 billion and his social media has over 130 million monthly active users, with money and influence, it is still very difficult to shake the roots of the two parties that have existed for over a hundred years.
Musk is not the first person to challenge the U.S. two-party system. In 1992, billionaire Ross Perot ran as an independent candidate for president and received 18.9% of the popular vote nationwide, but under the local majority, winner-takes-all election rules, he didn't get a single electoral vote. Last year, the current U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also ran as a third-party candidate for president, but in the face of an impossible victory, he made a deal with Trump, helping Trump win, and in exchange, got a ministerial position.
Over the past century, many parties such as the People's Party, Bull Moose Party, Progressive Party, State Rights Democratic Party, America's Independent Party, Reform Party, Liberal Party, and Green Party have been born in the United States, but none have taken off. In the 2024 election, the Liberal Party and the Green Party were still running, but together their candidates didn't even reach one percent of the total votes. That year, the two parties spent nearly $16 billion on the campaign. Musk spent nearly $3 billion for Trump, which was a lot, but just a fraction of the total funds of the Republican Party. If he wants to stand alone against the other two parties, he might need to increase his campaign spending by dozens of times, even though he is the richest man in the world, he must carefully consider. Musk's recent "founding of a party" on social media is hard to say whether he is determined to go it alone or just wants to bargain.
Political and business continuous drama
Reversal after reversal
In recent days, we have witnessed too many "reversals and re-reversals" in the U.S. political scene. It is really challenging to predict what the election will be like in a year. Taking Musk himself as an example, if we analyze his actions within three months, we can see that in April, he attended a meeting at the White House with a hat that read "Everything Trump says is right"; in May, he moved out of the White House, saying he would focus on running his business; in June, he criticized Trump for being ungrateful and without him, he wouldn't have won, but a few days later, he said he regretted his harsh words and backed down; now in July, Musk has split from Trump and "set up his own base," but who knows if he will change his mind the next day, and will the article be written in vain?
Everyone else has given up, will Musk's "America Party" become a catfish that stirs up stagnant water, or another fleeting meteor? The "political and business continuous drama" of the United States remains ongoing.
Sources: CCTV News Client
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524552288414663195/
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