Trump lashes out at Musk's new party, calling it "nonsensical"

Trump: "Musk establishing a new party will only add to the confusion"

Besant: "The board will dislike Musk's political activities"

Donald Trump, President of the United States, on the 6th (local time) criticized the announcement of Tesla CEO Elon Musk—once his closest aide, now at odds with him—regarding the launch of a new party, calling it "nonsensical." Before returning to the White House from New Jersey that day, President Trump told reporters at the airport, "I think launching a third party is nonsensical." He also added, "Establishing a third party will only add to the confusion," noting, "He might think it's fun, but I just see it as nonsensical."

During the last presidential election, Musk, who supported Trump with substantial campaign funding, later became his closest confidant after the election. Early in the administration, he led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheading federal budget cuts. However, he recently turned against President Trump by strongly opposing the "One Large and Beautiful Bill," a core legislative agenda item of Trump's administration. This was due to projections it would sharply increase the U.S. budget deficit. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that if enacted, it would increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next 10 years.

On Independence Day, the 4th, Musk began an online vote about founding a new party after President Trump signed the "One Large and Beautiful Bill" passed by Congress into official law. The day before, he formalized the new party's launch on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "Today, the America Party is being formed to return liberty to you."

Pushback from Trump's side continues. Scott Besant, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, said in a CNN interview in response to whether the Trump administration is concerned about Musk's new party announcement, "I think the boards of his various companies hope he will return and run those companies."

He added, "Therefore, the board likely disliked Musk's announcement yesterday and will encourage him to focus on management activities, not political ones."

Secretary Besant continues to have a tense relationship with Musk. During Musk's leadership of DOGE and his drive to reorganize the federal government, the two reportedly nearly came to blows during an argument at the White House. In the CNN interview, Besant also criticized, "DOGE's restructuring principles were quite popular, but Elon was not."

New York = Park Shin-young, Correspondent nyusos@hankyung.com