Musk, who had been a close ally of the president, announced on X Saturday that he would be forming the “America Party.” His decision was based on an X poll that he posted on July 4, where he asked users on the social media website if there should be an America Party.

The US president described the plan by Musk, who was until recently his adviser and most prominent financial backer, to create a new political party as "ridiculous."

American history is littered with third-party bids that flared brightly only to fizzle out, he explained. George Wallace carried five Southern states in 1968 and Ross Perot grabbed nearly 19% of the popular vote in 1992 — yet neither cracked the two-party hold on the presidency.