CNN’s chief data analyst has poured cold water on Elon Musk’s lofty ambitions to launch a new “America Party.”
Harry Enten told CNN News Central anchor John Berman on Monday that only 4 percent of voters like Musk and dislike the Republican Party—a minuscule base as Musk tries to take revenge against the Republican Party for passing Trump’s “big beautiful” spending package.
“This entire thing makes very little sense to me,” Enten said. “It makes about as much sense as selling sand in the desert.”
“It turns out most of the people who like Elon Musk already like the GOP already—that is, they already have a party for ‘em!” Enten added. “In my mind, there is just no base for Elon Musk third party in the electorate.”
Musk announced on Saturday that he would form his “America Party,” claiming he wanted to combat the current two-party system that was “bankrupting our country with waste & graft.”
Trump lashed out at Musk on Truth Social on Sunday, saying he was “off the rails” for in his third-party quest, which he suggested would only lead to “the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS.”
Enten argued that Musk’s high disapproval numbers would prevent him from achieving the same success as Ross Perot, who launched an independent party in March 1992. While Perot’s disapproval ratings hovered around 14 percent, 58 percent of Americans dislike Musk.
“We’re essentially saying here is that Elon Musk is going to go into an electorate that already dislikes him,” Enten said. “Far more people [were] open to the idea of a Ross Perot third party.”
Despite Musk’s insistence that he’ll face better odds by playing in congressional races, Enten revealed how many independent candidates have ascended to Congress since 1970: a paltry 24 out of 13,000, or about 0.2 percent.
“The bottom line is third-party independents, they just don’t succeed,” he said. “Donald Trump is right when he’s talking about the fact that third parties simply put don’t work.”
The post CNN Data Guru Laughs Off Elon Musk’s Delusional ‘America Party’ appeared first on The Daily Beast.
