Source: CCTV Network
With the "Big and Beautiful Act" proposed by U.S. President Trump officially taking effect, on July 5th local time, U.S. entrepreneur Musk announced on social media that he would establish a new party independent of the Republican and Democratic parties — "The America Party".
Previously, Musk had repeatedly put forward ideas about "The America Party" through social media, such as: this party would represent the "80% of moderate voters" in American society; it would participate in the 2026 midterm elections next year; initially focusing on 2 to 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House of Representatives seats, becoming the "key minority" in the U.S. Congress.
The day after "The America Party" announced its establishment, Trump publicly responded, saying that the United States has always been a two-party system, and "third parties have never worked", calling Musk's establishment of "The America Party" "too absurd".
What exactly is "The America Party"? Can it challenge the existing two-party system in the United States? For this, CCTV Network reporter interviewed Associate Professor Liu Haichao from the School of Politics and International Relations at Lanzhou University for a comprehensive analysis.
Reporter: How to understand Musk's declaration of establishing "The America Party"? What are his motives?
Liu Haichao: From the current perspective, the direct reason for Musk's declaration of establishing "The America Party" is that the "Big and Beautiful Act" signed by Trump canceled electric vehicle subsidies, which severely damaged Tesla's interests. However, according to public information, Musk's political move has been traceable for some time.
From a political ideology perspective, Musk supports new energy and technological development, which is not consistent with the Republican Party's positions, but has many similarities with the Democratic Party. However, during Biden's administration, Musk was ignored and had personal grievances due to family member incidents, leading him to strongly resent the Democratic Party. Therefore, when Trump ran for office, Musk spent $259 million supporting the Republican team, which surprised Trump. As Trump took office, global tariff hikes harmed Musk's business globalization, and Musk's frequent interventions in the administration made Trump dissatisfied, causing their relationship to gradually drift apart, ultimately leading Musk to officially resign on May 31st, making their conflicts public.
Musk initiated a vote on social media just one week after leaving (June 5th) stating that he wanted to establish a new party, and on July 4th, a web vote received over 810,000 netizens' support, making the establishment of a new party a natural progression.
It should be noted that although Musk claimed to hold a national congress for "The America Party," how to do it, when to do it, and how to start the relevant work of "The America Party" remain unknown. American media also pointed out that it is unclear how far "The America Party" will go.
Reporter: If Musk really establishes "The America Party," what challenges will he face in practice?
Liu Haichao: Apart from the two major parties, there are many third parties in the U.S. political arena, such as the Libertarian Party, which is called the "third largest party" by American media. Since its establishment in 1971, it has 650,000 registered voters and more than 200 party members holding public offices, actually being quite mature, with an annual budget of between $1 million to $3 million. Therefore, Musk can afford the budget if he wants to establish a new party. However, it is very difficult to "take the third path" in the U.S.
Firstly, there are legal procedural challenges. In the U.S., to establish a new party, it must first register at the state level, i.e., in all 50 states. Due to differences in regulations among states, most states require collecting voter signatures (the number varies per state), for example, California requires 0.33% of the state's voters (about 130,000 people) or submitting 1.1 million valid signatures. Some states require voter votes, with strict registration conditions, such as Arkansas requiring the party to receive at least 3% of the votes in the last state election, while state elections occur every four years, and the Libertarian Party took nearly 20 years to complete registration in Arkansas. After completing the state level, it can proceed to the so-called federal procedure, submitting the application to the Federal Election Commission and meeting the voting access conditions in at least 12 states. After passing the review, the party can nominate candidates for federal-level elections. Each of these procedures is very complex and requires several years, absolutely impossible to complete before the 2026 midterm elections.
Secondly, institutional obstacles. The U.S. is a two-party country, and almost all laws prioritize the two major parties. Even if a third party is established, the chances of winning in elections are not high. Because of the "single district" and "winner-takes-all" rules, only one winner per district, small parties may have voter support, but it is difficult to obtain electoral college votes in general elections. For example, independent candidate Perot in 1992 received nearly 19% of the popular vote, but obtained zero electoral college votes in the final election. Trump once considered establishing a third party called "Patriot Party," but it eventually went nowhere.
"The America Party" is also facing internal and external difficulties.
Internally, "The America Party" has a weak party base. Its voter profile is not as clear as that of the Republican and Democratic parties, lacking a deep grassroots and real voter base.
Externally, "The America Party" faces a severe political environment. As a party, its most important policy concepts and positions are currently quite vague, opposing Trump while overlapping with some Democratic Party ideologies, which could lead to some supporters being absorbed by the Democratic Party. Many American commentators point out that Musk actually has limited space for policy proposals. Recently, Trump said he would establish a "Super Political Action Committee" specifically targeting and resisting Musk. Whether this new party can withstand pressure from the Republicans remains uncertain.
Additionally, Musk's previous actions in the Department of Government Efficiency, such as mass layoffs in government departments and civil servants, questioning the income status of some members of Congress, have offended many members of the U.S. political scene. It is unknown whether he will be restricted by staff in the preparation of "The America Party" or subsequent elections.
Reporter: Do you think Musk's capital influence can be converted into political influence?
Liu Haichao: Before Trump took office, Musk already had significant political influence, for example, through rocket launch orders and the low-cost communication of Starlink systems, not only saving a lot of money for the military, but also contributing in the Ukraine war, having deep cooperation with the U.S. military; plus he is a billionaire with celebrity effects.
However, Musk himself also faces many bottlenecks. For example, U.S. law allows individuals to freely fund Super PACs, but they cannot directly fund a party, meaning that Musk's huge wealth is difficult to use directly for party activities, "having money but unable to spend it"; secondly, he was born in South Africa, and obtained U.S. citizenship after 2002, legally unable to run for president (violating the U.S. Constitution Article II). If he establishes a new party, what is his relationship with the new party, whether to promote new representative figures for election, and who the core elites will be, these have not been disclosed by Musk yet.
Some American commentators pointed out that personal fame does not help, don't waste time and energy on the new party, and suggested that Musk take a shortcut, such as cooperating with other parties. Currently, some centrist parties have extended olive branches to him, the Democrats have a clear观望 attitude, and he himself has not commented, which needs further observation.
Reporter: Besides political bottlenecks, what other difficulties does Musk face?
Liu Haichao: Musk is indeed an entrepreneur, and establishing a party is for commercial interests. In the past six months, Tesla's stock price has fluctuated frequently, and the Tesla board has expressed dissatisfaction and annoyance with him, more importantly, the industry has suffered losses.
For Musk, asset losses lead to a decrease in political influence, which will further damage his commercial interests. For example, his companies in South America, once he loses support from the U.S. government, may be taken over by the Chilean government, affecting his raw materials and entire supply chain. Moreover, Trump's "Big and Beautiful" policy will cancel subsidies for new energy vehicles and threaten to cancel government orders, making Musk's situation even more difficult.
Reporter: What developments might "The America Party" have in the future?
Liu Haichao: "The America Party" is still a paper game tool, with low possibility of implementation. Musk's core goal is to protect commercial interests, not to truly disrupt the two-party system. Therefore, Musk is likely to continue publishing "strategies" on social media in the future, continuously testing which voter bases exist and which policies are attractive.
However, Trump has a clear "businessman president" coloration. Previously, Musk had promised a large sum of money to the Republican National Committee, but it has not been fully paid yet. If Musk loosens up politically and injects more funds to support Trump's midterm elections, it is normal for Trump to change his position. In the long run, the situation of their confrontation may reverse, and it is still worth observing.
Reporter: Chen Yanxin
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7525274735635137062/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking the [up/down] buttons below.