White House Senior Counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro laughed off Elon Musk’s insults during an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Sunday and said everything was fine between them, despite Musk’s criticisms of the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
“First of all, Elon and I are great. This is not an issue,” Navarro said as Welker pressed him on Musk’s insults. “I’ve been called worse. Everything is fine with Elon. And look, Elon is doing a very good job with his team with waste, fraud and abuse. That’s a tremendous contribution to America and no man doing that kind of thing should be subject to having his cars firebombed by crazies.”
Musk had called Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks” and a “moron” after Navarro said that Musk was not a car manufacturer, but rather a car “assembler.”
Welker asked Navarro if Musk was disagreeing with President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Musk has advocated for “zero tariffs” and a free-trade zone between the U.S. and Europe.
Peter Navarro discusses his spat with Elon Musk during NBC’s “Meet the Press.” (Screenshot/NBC)
“We had Vietnam come to us first and then the EU. Zero tariffs get the American people virtually nowhere, particularly with a country like Vietnam, which sells us $15 for every $1 we sell. It doesn’t work. The big problem we have are the non-tariff barriers, the currency manipulation, the dumping, the VAT tax, all of that stuff that we have no defense against other than tariffs right now,” Navarro said.
Welker also asked about reports that Navarro had been sidelined, which he appeared to brush off.
“I’m here. I’m here on ‘Meet the Press,’” he responded, as Welker broke for commercial.
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Musk made the comment about zero tariffs during a video interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini earlier this month. The billionaire said he has advised Trump to bolster the relationship with European countries.
CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. ((Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images))
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“At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said.
Trump’s tariff policy was met with pushback from conservatives.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a question about the Musk-Navarro feud on Tuesday during a press briefing.
“These are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and tariffs. Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue,” she said. “You guys should all be very grateful that we have the most transparent administration in history.”
