In a recent turn of events, Peter Navarro, a leading trade advisor to the White House, has dismissed claims of a rift between him and tech titan Elon Musk, a fellow senior advisor to President Trump.
This comes in the wake of Musk's public denouncement of Navarro as a "moron."
Navarro, in a conversation with NBC News' "Meet the Press," dismissed the allegations of a feud, stating, "Everything's fine with Elon." He further brushed off the derogatory remarks, jesting, "I've been called worse."
According to CNBC, Navarro's remarks were in response to an interview where he was probed about Musk's advocacy for reduced trade barriers. This revealed potential discord within the administration regarding President Trump's tariff strategy.
Navarro, in the interview, acknowledged Musk's role as a car manufacturer but pointed out that Musk's company, Tesla, often assembles cars using imported parts. "We all understand in the White House, and the American people understand, that Elon's a car manufacturer," Navarro said. "But he's not a car manufacturer, he's a car assembler in many cases."
Navarro further elaborated that Tesla sources parts for its vehicles from Japan, China, and Taiwan. He highlighted a fundamental difference in their perspectives, stating, "The difference is, in our thinking and Elon's on this, is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here."
Following the CNBC interview, Musk took to social media platform X to lambast Navarro, initially calling him a "moron," then escalating to "dumber than a sack of bricks." Musk then issued a tongue-in-cheek apology, stating the comparison was "so unfair to bricks."
Despite the public spat, Navarro downplayed any tension between them, assuring "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker, "Elon and I are agreeing, it's not an issue."
Navarro also commended Musk's efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency, a Trump administration initiative aimed at eliminating "waste, fraud, and abuse" within the federal government. "Elon is doing a very good job with his team with waste, fraud, and abuse," Navarro said. "That's a tremendous contribution to America."
Following the announcement of Trump's tariffs in early April, Musk has shown signs of disagreement with the administration, advocating for a "zero tariff situation" between the U.S. and Europe. However, President Trump has since temporarily delayed the majority of the proposed reciprocal tariffs, maintaining a 10% duty on most nations' goods for 90 days while negotiations with trading partners are underway.
Navarro defended both Trump's initial decision to impose steep tariff hikes and the subsequent temporary reduction, arguing that the pause has paved the way for negotiations with other countries.
"This is unfolding exactly like we thought it would, in a dominant scenario," he said. "We've got 90 deals in 90 days possibly pending here, and it was par for the course. Actually, it was a birdie for President Trump to do exactly what he did, which was pause for 90 days, and we're going to get this done for the American people."
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