❓WHAT HAPPENED: Former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) frontman Elon Musk attacked President Donald J. Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” and threatened to create a new “America Party,” but pollster Jim McLaughlin believes he is delusional.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Trump pollster Jim McLaughlin.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Musk’s comments were posted on X on Monday, following the Senate’s passage of the “one big beautiful bill.”
💬KEY QUOTE: “Trump is the Republican Party right now. He is the conservative movement. There’s not a hankering for a third party with Elon Musk.” – Jim McLaughlin
🎯IMPACT: Musk’s remarks have reignited a public feud with the Trump administration and raised questions about his political influence and personal behavior.
Threats by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) frontman turned Trump adversary Elon Musk to form a new “America Party” have been dismissed by Jim McLaughlin, President of McLaughlin & Associates Polls. Musk, in a post on his X platform, criticized the Trump-championed “one big beautiful bill” currently making its way through Congress, calling it “insane” and accusing the government of being a “one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
The bill fulfills many of President Trump’s campaign promises, for instance, by increasing funds for border security and immigration enforcement and cutting taxes on tips and overtime. However, Musk is unhappy with it because it increases spending without sufficient cuts for his liking—seemingly not understanding that, as a reconciliation bill, the “OBBB” is unable to make certain cuts to certain types of spending, which are being dealt with through separate legislation.
Musk proposed the idea of a new “America Party” that “actually cares about the people.” He also threatened to fund primary challengers to Republican lawmakers who support the OBBB. In response, President Donald J. Trump alluded to reports that Musk, originally from South Africa, came to the U.S. as an illegal immigrant, and suggested DOGE may begin to scrutinize Musk’s expensive federal contracts and subsidies.
Jim McLaughlin, a pollster for Trump, dismissed Musk’s political ambitions. “I think it’s the ketamine talking in the middle of the night,” McLaughlin said, referring to reports of Musk’s allegedly extensive drug abuse. “Trump is the Republican Party right now. He is the conservative movement. There’s not a hankering for a third party with Elon Musk,” McLaughlin added.
Polls suggest Musk is deeply unpopular, being despised by Democrats for supporting President Trump’s 2024 campaign and initial DOGE efforts—after previously voting for Joe Biden in 2020 and for Hillary Clinton in 2016—while his support among Republicans has also eroded due to his public attacks on Trump and America First stalwarts such as WarRoom host Stephen K. Bannon.
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