Trump’s Treasury Secretary Disses Elon Musk After He Announces Rival Political Party

President Donald Trump’s treasury secretary just told Elon Musk to stay out of politics.

Cabinet member Scott Bessent took a shot at the Tesla CEO and former White House adviser after he revealed he was forming his own political party over the weekend.

Speaking about Musk’s time behind the federal budget-slashing initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency, Bessent said during Sunday’s episode of CNN’s “State of the Union”: “The principles of DOGE were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not.”

Bessent, who reportedly clashed with Musk during his time in the White House, then told the world’s richest man he’d be better off concentrating on his businesses, which reportedly took a slump during his time in politics.

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Bessent takes a shot at Musk: \"The principles of DOGE were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not.\" pic.twitter.com/cQChgprjSR

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 6, 2025

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Bessent takes a shot at Musk: “The principles of DOGE were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not.” pic.twitter.com/cQChgprjSR

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 6, 2025

“I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies,” he said. “I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday, and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.”

After publicly falling out with Trump over the cost of the president’s signature spending and tax cut bill, Musk announced the launch of the “America Party” in a Saturday post on X.

Calling out the so-called Big Beautiful Bill’s projected $3.3 trillion price tag, he wrote, “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.”

“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk went on.

The tech mogul’s nascent third-party already seems to have sparked the interest of several Trump critics.

Billionaire and “Shark Tank” personality Mark Cuban reposted the announcement with a series of fireworks and fire emojis before pledging to help get the America Party on ballots.

Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci also chimed in online, writing, “I would like to meet to discuss. My DMs are open.”

CORRECTION: This story has been amended to accurately reflect the projected cost of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

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