Global tectonic shift in the making in the US

The triangular tussle between the richest man on Earth, a democratic socialist, and the established political order promises to create history

- Shashi Shekhar

The American people —who were startled by the rise of Zohran Mamdani, the Democrat candidate for the post of New York mayor — are now seeing an even bigger and spicier political potboiler. The world's richest person, Elon Musk, has just announced a new political outfit, the America Party.

Not too long ago, Musk was considered by most to be the staunchest ally of American President Donald Trump, who is a member of the Republican Party. Indeed, Musk was made the chief of the infamous department of government efficiency (DOGE) within days of Trump entering the Oval Office. The department had been created to pare down “inefficient” government expenditure, and Musk ruthlessly fired many government functionaries in the name of reducing such “inefficiency.”

A raft of schemes and many departments that were long considered as being foundational to the US's democracy faced Musk’s axe. He wanted to drive the government like a corporate entity. At this point, he ran into opposition from vice-president JD Vance and other influential people. The clash ended with his unceremonious removal from DOGE.

Since then, both Trump and Musk have publicly threatened each other. Musk alleged that Trump was named in the Epstein sex trafficking case files in a post on X.com, the short-messaging platform he owns. He later deleted the post, but not before he had enraged President Trump, who shot back with a threat to deport him.