Musk's new political party draws fire from investors, officials
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and major stakeholders are urging Musk to focus on his corporate responsibilities.
A day after Musk unveiled plans for the "America Party" and criticized President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, Bessent said Musk should avoid politics and focus on his companies.
"I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday (July 5) and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities," Bessent said on CNN's State of the Union.
Musk said the party would target Republican lawmakers who supported what he called a fiscally dangerous measure. The legislation, dubbed the "big, beautiful bill," includes tax cuts and increased spending on defense and border security. It passed along party lines last week.
Musk previously served as a top adviser to Trump during his first months in office, especially on government efficiency reforms. However, their relationship has soured over the bill, which Musk says would "bankrupt the country." His criticism includes claims that the new law removes green energy credits for Tesla vehicles.
In response, Trump has threatened to withdraw billions of dollars in contracts and subsidies currently awarded to Tesla and SpaceX. The White House declined to address Musk's new political threat directly but defended the legislation.
"As the leader of the Republican Party, President Trump has unified and grown the party in a way we've never seen," said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields.
Musk's announcement also rattled financial circles. Azoria Partners, an investment firm planning to launch a Tesla-focused ETF, delayed its offering. CEO James Fishback said the new party "posed a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO."
Fishback later posted on X, "Elon left us with no other choice," and called on Tesla's board to clarify Musk's political ambitions.
Bessent noted that while Musk's government efficiency initiatives were well received, polling showed voters connected more with the ideas than with Musk himself.
"The principles of DOGE were very popular," Bessent said. "I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not."
Meanwhile, Stephen Miran, chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, defended the legislation on ABC's This Week, calling it a powerful catalyst: "The one, big, beautiful bill is going to create growth on turbo charge."
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- Toronto Sun
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If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The backward-looking inquiries are taking place even as the Republican administration's national security agencies are confronting global threats. But they have served as a rallying cry for Trump, who is trying to unify a political base at odds over the Jeffrey Epstein case, with some allies pressing to disclose more information despite the president's push to turn the page. Trump's attack prompted a rare response from Obama's post-presidential office. 'Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesman. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.' Gabbard's new report on the Russia investigation Trump's tirade, a detour from his official business as he hosted the leader of the Philippines, unfolded against the backdrop of a new report from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that represented his administration's latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, which has infuriated him for years. The report, released Friday, downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump's favor. But Obama's Democratic administration never suggested otherwise, even as it exposed other means by which Russia interfered in the election, including through a massive hack-and-leak operation of Democratic emails by intelligence operatives working with WikiLeaks, as well as a covert foreign influence campaign aimed at swaying public opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts. Gabbard's report appears to suggest the absence of manipulation of state election systems is a basis to call into question more general Russian interference. Democrats swiftly decried the report as factually flawed and politically motivated. 'It is sadly not surprising that DNI Gabbard, who promised to depoliticize the intelligence community, is once again weaponizing her position to amplify the president's election conspiracy theories,' Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote on X. Several investigations found Russian interference in 2016 Russia's broad interference in 2016 has been established through a series of investigations, including special counsel Robert Mueller's report, which concluded that the Trump campaign welcomed the Kremlin's help but also found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy. A House Intelligence Committee report also documented Russia's meddling, as did the Senate Intelligence Committee, which concluded its work in 2020 at a time when the panel was led by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who's now Trump's secretary of state. A different special counsel appointed by the Trump Justice Department to hunt for problems in the origins of the Russia investigation, John Durham, did find flaws, but not related to what Gabbard sought to highlight in her report. 'Few episodes in our nation's history have been investigated as thoroughly as the Intelligence Community's warning in 2016 that Russia was interfering in the election,' said Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. He added that every legitimate investigation, including the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee probe, 'found no evidence of politicization and endorsed the findings of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment.' Gabbard's document was released weeks after a CIA report that reexamined a 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian interference. That new review, ordered by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, did not dispute Russia had interfered but suggested officials were rushed in the intelligence assessment they produced. Seeking investigations of former officials Ratcliffe has since referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for investigation, a person familiar with the matter has said. The department earlier this month appeared to acknowledge an open investigation into Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey in an unusual statement earlier this month, but the status or contours of the inquiries are unclear. Besides Obama, Trump on Tuesday rattled off a list of people he accused of acting criminally 'at the highest level,' including Comey, his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and former national intelligence director James Clapper. He accused Obama, without evidence, of being the 'ringleader' of a conspiracy to get him. Obama has never been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the Russia investigation, and, in any event, a landmark Supreme Court opinion from last year shields former presidents from prosecution for official acts conducted in office. Trump launched his tirade when asked about the Justice Department's effort to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Epstein, who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls. 'I don't really follow that too much,' he said. 'It's sort of a witch hunt, a continuation of the witch hunt.' Trump is under pressure from conspiracy-minded segments of his political base to release more about the Epstein case. Democrats say Trump is resisting because of his past association with Epstein. Trump has denied knowledge of or involvement with Epstein's crimes and said he ended their friendship years ago. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
