Elon Musk trashes Trump adviser Peter Navarro in tariff feud

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Apr 8, 2025

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Elon Musk Tuesday called White House economic adviser Peter Navarro a “moron” as rifts deepen among President Donald Trump’s supporters over his sweeping plan for tariffs.

The world’s richest man also used the R-word to insult the intelligence of Navarro, an economic populist who is one of the most outspoken advocates for higher import taxes designed to protect American manufacturing.

“Navarro is truly a moron,” Musk tweeted.

“Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” he added.

For his part, Navarro derided Musk’s Tesla as a mere “car assembler,” suggesting the electric vehicle giant contributes to U.S. trade woes by using mostly imported parts. Musk rejects that claim.

Trump himself has not weighed in on the MAGA infighting but has insisted he will not ease the plan for tariffs that are set to go into effect at 12 a.m. Wednesday, including an eye-popping 104% tax on all goods imported from China.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Tuesday laughed off the feud, saying that differences of opinions are healthy.

“Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue,” Leavitt said.

Name calling aside, the war of words reflects deepening divisions over tariffs among supporters of Trump and even White House insiders.

Musk, who has played a key role in Trump’s effort to slash government spending, has made no secret of his distaste for Trump’s giant tariffs, which many economists believe will plunge the economy into recession.

Billionaire GOP megadonors Ken Langone and Bill Ackman have also slammed the Trump plan as misguided.

Navarro, on the other hand, is one of the strongest supporters of the Trump tariff plan within the White House.

He is credited with concocting the opaque formula used to calculate the tariffs imposed on imports from each country, which is based on the trade deficit between the U.S. and each trading partner, not their tariffs on American imports.

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