In the ever-unpredictable world of American politics, a seismic shift is underway, orchestrated not by a politician but by a tech mogul. After a tumultuous public feud with President Donald Trump and a brief, unfulfilled promise to launch a new "America Party," billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly made a major pivot. According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk has decided to join a growing circle of influential tech titans in rallying behind Vice President JD Vance, positioning him as the potential successor to the Trump agenda.
The backstory to this strategic move is a spectacular public fallout. Despite spending nearly $300 million to help elect Trump in 2024, the relationship between the two soured dramatically. The breaking point appeared to be Musk’s provocative tweet suggesting that "Trump is in the Epstein files." This bold accusation was met with an equally fiery response, with Trump publicly threatening to strip Musk’s companies of their multibillion-dollar government contracts. The conflict, once simmering, became a very public war of words, making it clear that their political partnership was no longer viable.
With a potential third term for Trump off the table due to term limits, Musk and other tech leaders are now setting their sights on 2028. Vance, a former Ohio senator, has emerged as the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination in recent polls. He is not only courting powerful media moguls like Rupert Murdoch but is now also attracting the financial backing of influential tech executives, including Palantir CEO Peter Thiel and former PayPal COO David Sacks. Musk’s potential support for Vance would solidify this powerful new alliance, creating a formidable financial and technological force behind the Vice President’s ambitions.
The pivot to Vance also marks the quiet burial of the "America Party" idea. Despite a July 4th online poll where 65% of his followers voted in favor of a new political party, the initiative seems to have gone silent. Those who offered to help, including billionaire Mark Cuban and Libertarian National Committee Chair Steven Nekhaila, have reported an "eerie silence" and a lack of any concrete action at the ground level. It appears the complex realities of building a political party from scratch—getting on the ballot, organizing supporters—proved a far greater challenge than a simple social media poll. Sources close to Musk confirmed that he wanted to shift his focus back to his core businesses, a clear sign that a full-scale political movement was a venture too far, even for him.
