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Why Is Musk Calling For A New America Party Over Trumps Beautiful Bill?

Elon Musk has threatened to form a new political party as the US Senate debates Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’. But can he actually do it? Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday that he would form a new political party in the United States if a Republican-leaning Congress passes President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”, which proposes tax breaks and funding cuts for healthcare and food programmes. Musk has voiced criticism of the bill on multiple occasions over the past month and began suggesting the idea of the new party on social media starting early June. Here is more about Musk’s reservations about the bill, and about his new proposed party. Musk has been saying that if the bill is passed, Republicans are no different from Democrats, who are often accused by conservatives of being profligate with spending taxpayers’ dollars. The version of the bill that the Senate is discussing at the moment, if passed by both chambers of Congress, would expand the national debt by $3.3 trillion between 2025 and 2034. The current US national debt stands at more than $36 trillion. “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” Musk posted on his social media platform, X, on Monday. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.” In an earlier post, Musk wrote: “It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” The debt ceiling, set by the US Congress, determines the upper limit to the amount of money that the US Treasury can borrow. The current debt limit is $36.1 trillion. Once a key aide and major campaign donor for Trump, Musk had a public online falling out with the president in June over his criticism of the bill. On June 3, Musk wrote on X: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.” Musk alleged that Trump was linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in a now-deleted post on X. However, Trump and Musk seemed to have reached a detente when Trump told reporters that he wished Musk well while the latter wrote on X on June 11 that he had gone “too far” in his criticism of the US president. However, since then, Musk has argued in a series of online posts that the bill would increase the debt ceiling, “bankrupt America”, and “destroy millions of jobs in America”. Musk owns the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla. The current version of the bill, with amendments made by the Senate, seeks to end the tax credit for purchases of EVs worth up to $7,500, starting on September 30. This could reduce the consumer demand for EVs in the US. On June 5, Musk posted a poll on his X account, asking his followers: “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 percent in the middle?” While social media polls are known to be nonrepresentative of broader public sentiment, 5.6 million people voted on the poll, and 80.4 percent responded with “yes”. Since then, Musk has repeatedly reposted the poll result, citing it as evidence that most Americans want a new party to be formed. “Musk believes that 80 percent of Americans are unhappy with the two major parties and are not being represented,” Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor at the Department of Government, the University of Essex, told Al Jazeera. While that number might not reflect the wider American public, it does point to a trend in the electorate; according to a Gallup poll from 2024, 43 percent of Americans identified as independent, 28 percent identified as Republican and 28 percent identified as Democrat. In other words, more Americans identify as independent than as either Democrat or Republican. One of Musk’s followers replied to a post on X with an image with the text “America Party”. The world’s richest man responded: “‘America Party’ has a nice ring to it. The party that actually represents America!” Experts say Musk, whose net worth is $363bn as of Monday according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, would realistically be able to fund a third party in the US. However, it is still unclear whether he would go ahead with his plan or whether his party would have a significant effect on US elections. “Musk certainly has the financial power to back a third party that could be very disruptive to the Republican Party, but it’s not certain if Musk will take on this risk,” Lindstaedt said. Lindstaedt recalled how earlier this month, Musk backed down from his criticism of Trump on X. “If we take him at his word, he could spend hundreds of millions on this project,” she added. “Musk has been ramping up his criticism of the bill lately, and he may find specific legislators [particularly from the House] would be willing to defect if their constituencies are more negatively affected by Trump’s policies,” Lindstaedt said, referring to the House of Representatives. “He will also have the attention of fiscal hawks in particular.” Lindstaedt added that among American voters, there is a “huge appetite” for a third party. “The bill will leave the US spending hundreds of billions just in the interest, and the more Americans understand this, the more they may want to flock to something different. US public frustration with the traditional parties is at an all-time high, and Musk may be able to capitalise on this.” However, Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science in the UCL School of Public Policy in London, said it was unclear whether Musk is serious and suggested that the barriers to breaking the Republican-Democrat duopoly are hard to scale for anyone. “This is Elon Musk bluffing,” he told Al Jazeera. “He knows as well as anyone that the power of party machines behind Democrats and Republicans is too much to surmount.” Gift added that while forming a party is possible, “winning seats in Congress or the White House is another matter entirely”. “At best, a third party will have little impact on US elections; at worst, it will play ‘spoiler’, taking votes from one of the two parties and de facto giving it to another.” On Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, saying: “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one.” Trump added: “Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.” “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” Trump wrote, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body aimed at boosting government efficiency and upgrading Information Technology, that Musk formed and led at the start of Trump’s second administration, before leaving on May 30. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Worldnews

Are Palestinian Groups In Lebanon About To Give Up Their Weapons?

For decades, Palestinian groups have retained arms in Lebanon. Now Mahmoud Abbas and Joseph Aoun say that must end. Beirut, Lebanon – For decades, Palestinian groups in Lebanon have run their affairs themselves. In the refugee camps established for Palestinians displaced by Israel in 1948 and 1967, Palestinian factions have overseen security and many have retained their arms. Those days, however, appear to be coming to a close. Instead, the Lebanese state is attempting to take advantage of a period of weakness for the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, as it struggles to regroup from its war with Israel, to exercise its power over the country. Lebanon’s new government – formed in February and led by former International Court of Justice judge Nawaf Salam – has the backing of regional and international powers to disarm all non-state actors. That includes the many Palestinian groups that have carried arms since a 1969 agreement that allowed them to have autonomy in the 12 official Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. And on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas gave his blessing during a visit to Lebanon. A joint statement from Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared that both sides had agreed that the existence of “weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state has ended”. “Abu Mazen [Abbas] came to say that we are guests in Lebanon and not above Lebanese authority,” Mustafa Abu Harb, an official with Fatah, the largest political faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Al Jazeera. “We do not accept weapons in the hands of anyone other than the Lebanese state.” Abbas, on his first trip to Lebanon since 2017, also met Prime Minister Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the challenging prospect of disarming Palestinian factions in Lebanon and improving the rights and conditions of the estimated 270,000 Palestinians in the country. Palestinians in Lebanon do not have the legal right to work in a number of professions, they may not own property or businesses and cannot access public service employment or the use of public services, such as healthcare and social security, according to UNRWA, the United Nations body created in 1948 for Palestinian refugees. “We reaffirm our previous position that the presence of weapons in the camps outside the framework of the state weakens Lebanon and also harms the Palestinian cause,” Abbas said in the meeting with Aoun, according to the Palestinian state news agency Wafa. However, questions remain as to whether the divisive Abbas, who has not faced an election since 2005, has the authority to disarm the different Palestinian groups. A senior Hamas official in Lebanon, Ali Barakeh, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that he hoped the talks between Abbas and Aoun would go further than just Palestinian groups’ disarmament. “We affirm our respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability, and at the same time, we demand the provision of civil and human rights for our Palestinian people in Lebanon,” Barakeh said. Hamas, which – along with Hezbollah – is considered part of the wider Iranian-allied “axis of resistance” network, has already cooperated with the Lebanese state on at least one occasion since the ceasefire with Israel. In May, the Palestinian group handed over a fighter suspected of firing rockets at Israel, according to the Lebanese army, and called them “individual acts”. The group has also said it respects the ceasefire and is willing to work with the Lebanese state. Over the course of his two-decade reign, Abbas’s popularity among Palestinians in Lebanon has sharply eroded. That lack of support can be seen in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, where posters of Abbas’s predecessor, Yasser Arafat, as well as Hamas’s spokesperson, Abu Obeida, can be seen far more than those of the PA leader. “None of the Palestinians, except Fatah, claim that he’s our president,” Majdi Majzoub, a community leader in Beirut’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, Shatila, said. “This president doesn’t honour us and doesn’t represent us because he supports the occupation and adopts the occupation’s decisions.” Aside from Abbas’s unpopularity, other factors may lead to a pushback against any attempt to disarm Palestinian groups in Lebanon. Nicholas Blanford, a nonresident senior fellow with the US-based think tank Atlantic Council, said it “could be interpreted as a win for the Israelis if the Palestinians … were obliged to give [their weapons] up”. Blanford also pointed out that defenders of the continued presence of armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon point to events such as the Sabra and Shatila massacre, when between 2,000 and 3,500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were killed over two days by right-wing Christian nationalist forces with Israeli support in 1982. Blanford, however, believes that the consensus is moving towards the disarmament of at least heavy weaponry from the Palestinian factions in Lebanon, and that some Palestinians welcome the move. “We as a Palestinian people certainly welcome [the initiative] because things have changed,” Majzoub said. Majzoub said bad-faith actors have taken advantage of the Lebanese state’s lack of authority over the Palestinian camps to avoid being held accountable for crimes. Lebanon’s armed forces rarely enter the Palestinian refugee camps. In 2007, the army besieged the Nahr al-Bared camp in north Lebanon and clashed with the Fatah al-Islam group, which was based in the camp. Hundreds died in the battle, which left large swaths of the camp uninhabitable. The Lebanese army has also, on occasion, infiltrated camps to arrest individuals. The security situation can at times be tense in the camps, as it is in other parts of Lebanon. On Monday, local media reported that armed clashes between rival drug dealers in Beirut’s Shatila camp forced residents to flee. Among the worst incidents in the past few years were the large-scale battles that erupted in the summer of 2023 between armed groups in Ein el-Hilweh camp, in southern Lebanon, after a botched assassination attempt on a Fatah official. More than two dozen people were killed in the fighting before a ceasefire was negotiated. Carrying weapons in the camps was once seen as a right of resistance. But after more than seven decades of displacement and insecurity, some Palestinians in Lebanon today feel that carrying arms is undercutting their struggle for liberation. “Palestinian weapons have become a threat to the Palestinian revolution,” Majzoub said. “Now, it is better for us to live under the protection of the Lebanese state.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Worldnews

Fluminense Into Club World Cup Quarterfinals After Stunning Inter Milan 2-0

The Brazilian side advance to face either Manchester City or Al Hilal in a quarterfinal on Friday. Fluminense have reached the Club World Cup quarterfinals with a stunning 2–0 win over Inter Milan as German Cano’s early goal and Hercules’s stoppage-time strike toppled the Champions League runners-up. Fluminense struck after three minutes when Cano pounced on a deflected cross and headed in from close range, putting the ball through goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s legs for a dream start in the sweltering heat in Charlotte, North Carolina, the US on Monday. The Brazilian side nearly doubled the lead in the 30th minute, when Sommer spilled Jhon Arias’s initial effort and Samuel Xavier fired the rebound attempt narrowly wide of the far-left post. And in the 39th minute, Ignacio thought he had doubled Flu’s advantage, only to be ruled fractionally offside by the automated review system. The pattern of more Inter Milan possession but more dangerous Fluminense chances continued early in the second half, and Sommer reacted superbly in the 62nd minute to dive and push Arias’s effort from beyond the penalty area just around his left post. Lautaro Martinez came closest to pulling Inter Milan level, forcing the 44-year-old Fabio into a pair of saves in the 80th and 82nd minute, then striking the post with another low effort only seconds later. Eleven minutes later, Inter Milan’s at times shaky defence was exposed for a second time. Hercules found himself free at the edge of the 18-yard box following a throw-in, and he drove a composed, low finish into the bottom right corner and sent the Fluminense fans into delirium. Fluminense captain Thiago Silva said he was “very proud of my team and teammates” for beating such a top side and in extremely hot conditions. “I’m very happy for myself and the team,” he told DAZN. “Ten days ago, I had an injury, and it wasn’t easy to play today. But I am very happy with the medical team … it was very very important for me to play today.” The result ensured that there will be two Brazilian quarterfinalists in the first edition of this expanded tournament format, after Palmeiras also reached the last eight. Fluminense will play the winner of Monday’s later game between Manchester City and Al Hilal in the quarterfinals. If heavily favoured Manchester City progress, it would present a rematch of the 2023 Club World Cup final, which Manchester City won 4-0. Inter Milan were eliminated in the second round 30 days after they suffered a 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final. They also narrowly finished second in the Italian Serie A. Cristian Chivu, Inter Milan’s coach, hailed his team for their attitude as they battled to come back from conceding such an early goal. “We didn’t give up; we tried until the end. We tried to make some changes even in the formation. It wasn’t our day,” he told DAZN. “We didn’t expect them to play five at the back, but they were well organised with the low block on defence. It was tough for us to find solutions, especially in the first half when we tried a lot … in the second half, maybe we tried to switch a little bit more, to play outside and with some more crosses. “We also tried to build something with two strikers in a 4-4-2. Until the end, we tried, but it wasn’t our day.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case: Watch These 5 Gripping Historical Thrillers On OTT

Political conspiracies, secret missions, and dramatic retellings of India’s past—The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case has captured attention for exactly these reasons. Streaming now on SonyLIV via OTTplay Premium, this series offers a gripping dive into one of the most significant and tragic moments in modern Indian political history. If you were drawn to the high-stakes storytelling and real-life consequences of The Hunt, here are five additional intense historical and political thrillers you should stream next. Drawn from the acclaimed novel by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, Freedom at Midnight is a richly textured political drama that follows India’s path to freedom and the consequent partition into India and Pakistan. The series portrays landmark moments that reshaped the subcontinent, from Mountbatten’s arrival to Gandhi’s final days. Directed by Nikkhil Advani, this visual reimagining brings together a talented ensemble: Sidhant Gupta plays a young, idealistic Jawaharlal Nehru; Chirag Vohra dons the robes of Mahatma Gandhi; and Rajendra Chawla appears as the resolute Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The series also features excellent performances of British figures, including actors from the movies playing Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lady Edwina Mountbatten. If The Hunt engaged you with its politics, Freedom at Midnight will move you by the sheer weight of history. While The Hunt is a chase for justice, Mission Over Mars is a pursuit of a different kind—one to the stars. This is a drama inspired by the real women of ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), India’s finest scientific victory. The show centers on four women scientists navigating sexism, societal pressure, and technical challenges as they make history. Featuring Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh, Nidhi Singh, and Palomi Ghosh, this Ekta Kapoor-produced series goes beyond the lab to show the emotional stakes and human resilience behind the mission. It’s not a typical thriller, but it thrills nonetheless, with high-stakes drama rooted in real accomplishment. Before India could become a space-faring nation or nuclear power, it had to dream big. Rocket Boys tells the story of two such dreamers: Dr. Homi J. Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, pioneers who laid the foundation of India’s nuclear and space programs in the early decades after independence. Starring Jim Sarbh as Homi Bhabha and Ishwak Singh as Vikram Sarabhai, this beautifully crafted period drama goes beyond scientific facts. It delves into friendship, sacrifice, political strife, and the stress of creating something that will last from scratch. Similar to The Hunt, Rocket Boys strikes a balance between historical accuracy and humanity, providing an intelligent tale that’s both heady and heartfelt. If you like thrillers in which national security and foreign diplomacy come face-to-face, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran is a must-watch. Inspired by real events, the movie tells the story of how India tested nuclear weapons in 1998 while managing to avoid global monitoring, especially from America. John Abraham plays Ashwat Raina, an IAS official who is bent on reclaiming India’s nuclear reputation after a previous attempt years ago. Diana Penty plays a military officer who supports the covert mission. Directed by Abhishek Sharma, Parmanu expertly weaves patriotism, suspense, and historical detail into a story that keeps you on edge, just like The Hunt does with its unfolding investigation. Against the backdrop of one of India’s most tragic periods, The Waking of a Nation is a dramatized tell-all of the aftermath of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The six-part show traces the story of Kantilal Sahni, a newly returned young lawyer from London who becomes caught in the intricate conspiracy of colonial lies and growing national anger. Produced by Ram Madhvani, this intense drama stars Taaruk Raina as Kantilal Sahni, with Sahil Mehta, Bhawsheel Singh Sahni, and Nikita Dutta. While the British try to stifle the truth, an epic struggle for justice ensues, one rife with moral compromises and deadly repercussions. Like The Hunt, this show is propelled by character-driven quests for truth in the face of systems based on silence. What makes The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case so engaging to watch is not only its concentration on an actual political enigma but also how it manages to humanize history to demonstrate how policy, ideology, and tragedy come together in very intimate ways. All of the shows and films mentioned above do the same thing in various guises, from courtroom theatre and nationalist fervor to the understated determination of scientists and leaders. No matter what you’re looking for in India’s independence, its rise to science, or its periods of political unrest, these five titles are less than straightforward histories; they’re films that linger with you well after the end credits.