US: can a Musk party be successful?
Elon Musk has announced he is forming a new political party. The tech entrepreneur was a presidential adviser in the initial months of Trumps’s second tenure and head of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Then the two fell out over Musk's criticism of a recently approved tax bill. Europe's press assesses the potential impact of Musk's America Party on the mid-term elections in November 2026.
Revenge campaign against the president
According to US journalist Alan Friedman, Musk has a fighting chance:
“At first glance Musk's newly hatched 'America Party' would seem to be nothing more than the next chapter in the ongoing battle between the world's biggest and most powerful narcissists. It is exactly that, of course, but not just that. ... Musk needs to win just two or three seats in the Senate to rob Trump's Maga Republicans of the majority in the Senate and tip the scales. This is a surreal but politically and financially possible scenario. Musk could be successful if he is prepared to throw enough money at it. Nothing would give him more satisfaction. Nothing could be more terrifying for Trump than this kind of planned revenge scenario.”
No one needs another egomaniac
US citizens crave a new alternative, but not a Musk party, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung:
“A third party would undoubtedly be more attractive now than seldom before. After all, the US has a two-party system and both parties are experiencing an existential crisis. The Republicans have been infiltrated by the Maga movement and the Democrats still seem to be frozen in shock after losing the election. But a third party would need to be a serious centrist contender. Literally the last thing that America needs now is a new party run by an unpredictable egomaniac. Is has one of those already.”
Probably biting off more than he can chew
The Salzburger Nachrichten is sceptical:
“Musk has a long history of making grand announcements that run into problems with details when confronting reality. His space travel company SpaceX had a recent issue with exploding rockets and he promised self-driving vehicles for his car brand Tesla years ago. It's quite possible that Musk has no idea how difficult it will be for his new political start-up to change the US's rigid democracy. Filing complicated registrations in individual states, creating a visible party infrastructure across the vast expanse of the US and convincing the media that outsider candidates deserve airtime are all mammoth tasks.”
Taking votes from the Republicans
The Irish Independent notes:
“While a third party is unlikely to have any impact by way of seats, its real damage to Mr Trump and the Republicans will be by siphoning away a chunk of their voters. Even a small third-party vote can swing a close election. In 2000, Ralph Nader, of Green Party, won only 2.7 percent of the vote. Yet his few million votes in Florida and other swing states are credited with tipping the election in favour of George W. Bush. It is a scenario that could prove devastating to the Republicans who face tight races in the mid-term elections next year.”
A threat to Trump's power base
There's a lot at stake for Trump in the 2026 congressional midterm elections, political scientist Serhij Taran insists on Facebook:
“Musk's involvement in the elections could create a split within the Republicans' core electorate - and give the Democrats a clear victory. If Trump were to lose just one of the two chambers of Congress, it would be pretty catastrophic for him. He would no longer be able to implement his - let's say - unconventional plans and intentions because Congress, as a powerful American institution, would put the brakes on his exotic initiatives. That would be the end for Trump and the entire Trumpist ideology.”