Elon Musk's brother has called on President Trump to fire Peter Navarro, one of Trump's strongest backers on tariffs, as a rift widens between Musk and the White House over trade policy.
Musk has called Navarro, a famously pro-tariff economist, "a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks," while Navarro has attacked Musk as a "car assembler" who is just following his self-interest.
Navarro is a longtime Trump loyalist who served as a trade adviser during Trump's first term. Navarro's refusal to appear before the January 6th committee landed him in prison for four months.
Musk has grown to become one of Trump's closest and most powerful advisers since his return to the White House, with the two leading a sweeping effort to trim waste in the federal government. But some stark differences have become clear since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs sent shockwaves through global markets.
The stock market surged Wednesday after Trump said he would pause tariffs on most countries for 90 days, except China, which will face tariff rates of 125%.
Meanwhile, a rift over trade policy opened up over the weekend as Musk dismissed Navarro's Harvard education as a "bad thing, not a good thing." Navarro, in turn, accused Musk of "protecting his own interests."
In a CNBC interview Monday, Navarro went further, calling Musk a "car assembler" whose company, Tesla, relies on foreign inputs.
Musk called Navarro a "moron" and said that Tesla is one of the most "American-made" car companies, citing a Cars.com study that included Canada.
"Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false," Musk posted on X.
While Musk has yet to criticize Trump directly, his younger brother Kimball has gone a step further by urging President Trump to fire Navarro. Both Musk brothers have mocked Navarro by referencing Ron Vara, a fictional expert from one of Navarro's books.
"Mr President, if Peter Navarro has lied to you about Ron Vara, what else has he lied to you about?" Kimball wrote on X, urging Trump to "put America first and fire him."
But the president wants to "hear from all sides" on this contentious issue, the White House said Tuesday.
“These are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“Boys will be boys and we will let their public sparring continue. You guys should all be very grateful that we have the most transparent administration in history.”
