Musk Announces American Party: What Is A Third Party in US ?

After United States' President Donald Trump signed the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Elon Musk, who had publicly criticised it, announced his third party. The American Party, he said, was "formed to give you (people) back your freedom." Musk said it was his fight against the "two-party system" that has governed the USA for over two centuries.

What does this mean?

Since Musk's American Party will be formed outside the Democratic and Republican Parties, it is categorised as a 'third party'. In the two-party system of the USA, any party outside of these two comes under the larger umbrella of 'third party'.

The Green Party, Libertarians, Constitution Party, and Natural Law Party are all considered 'third parties' in the USA.

According to History Channel, since 1920, only four third-party candidates—Robert La Follette in 1924, Strom Thurmond in 1948, George Wallace in 1968 and John Hospers in 1972—have been able to win even a single electoral vote.

America’s political structure favours the two-party system, and it is difficult for newcomers to break through. Many, like the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, etc., have tried, The Indian Express reported.

What happened in the past?

By 1908, Theodore Roosevelt had finished two terms as president and chose not to run for a third term. In his stead, William Taft was chosen as the Republican candidate as nominated by Roosevelt himself. However, when Taft failed to advance reforms and the bill of his predecessor, Roosevelt decided to run again in 1912.

Hence, the primary Republican vote was divided between Roosevelt and Taft. Despite the former winning the primaries, Taft was nominated as Presidential candidate by the GOP, according to GOP.

Choosing to push for his agenda, Roosevelt started the Progressive Party. This party holds the title for the highest share of votes ever earned by a third-party candidate.

The primary outcome of this case was the division of the Republican vote, which ultimately undermined the party’s electoral prospects and brought to power a Democratic government, according to History Channel.

In a similar vein, Musk’s American Party, if positioned against a Republican candidate, risks repeating history by fracturing the conservative vote, potentially clearing a path for a Democratic win.

Trump Calls It a Train Wreck

Meanwhile, Trump reacts to the new third party: “I think it’s ridiculous. We have tremendous success with the Republican Party. The democrats have lost their way, and it’s always been a two-party system. I think starting a third party just adds to the confusion.”

The “confusion” that Trump is referring to is known as the spoiler effect.

According to an article by Election Science, a “spoiler” is a non-winning candidate whose presence on the ballot affects which candidate wins. This is one negative outcome of vote-splitting. Any non-viable or non-major candidate is often labelled as a potential “spoiler.”

To put it in perspective, if a citizen wants to vote for Musk's proposed American Party, they might not cast their vote for their first-choice third-party option. This is because the citizen is worried that their vote for a third party, which might not win in a two-party system, could lead to their least favourable party winning.

Thus, assuming the first choice of the said citizen is the American Party, the second Republican and the third Democratic, they would end up voting for their second choice, just to ensure that the Democratic party does not win.

This electoral “spoiler effect” often ends up confusing voters and diluting voter share by pulling away votes from a major party candidate (often the one ideologically closer to them) and ends up helping the opposing side win, as explained by Election Science.

Can Musk Make A Difference

While Musk proposes to win just enough seats to hold up Bills they oppose, all of this is easier said than done, as the Indian Express reports; however, Musk’s American Party might disrupt the current two-party system.

With history serving as an example, if Musk successfully registers the American Party for the Presidential elections next term, the spoiler effect could kick in and bring to power a Democratic government.