Top Trump advisor Peter Navarro reveals true state of tariff feud with Elon Musk after ugly public spat

WASHINGTON, DC: Elon Musk recently went scorched earth on Peter Navarro, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal lieutenants, over the tariffs imposed on dozens of nations by the US — but Navarro is playing it cool like nothing ever happened.

Appearing on NBC’s 'Meet the Press' on Sunday, April 13, Navarro tried to keep the peace after Musk labeled him everything — from a “moron” to “dumber than a sack of bricks". Musk even joked that that was an insult to bricks.

But when asked about the online slugfest, Navarro just smiled and brushed it off. “Everything’s fine with Elon,” he told Kristen Welker.

“Elon is doing a very good job with his team with waste, fraud and abuse. Elon and I are agreeing. It’s not an issue," he said.

Navarro added, “I’ve been called worse.” 

The social media exchange that sparked it all

The feud began when Peter Navarro went on CNBC and suggested that while Teslas and Cybertrucks are assembled in the US, they’re made with parts manufactured overseas. Elon Musk was not having it.

“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk snapped on X (formerly Twitter). In a follow-up tweet, he said Navarro was “dumber than a sack of bricks,” then quipped that was actually offensive to bricks.

The feud lit up social media. While the White House tried to brush it off with a “boys will be boys” from press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the whole episode threw light on a deeper issue inside Trump’s camp — no one seems to be on the same page when it comes to tariffs.

A tariff strategy that’s all over the place

Donald Trump’s trade war 2.0 has dominated the news cycle of late. Peter Navarro and other officials have been forced to defend the rollout of the president’s chaotic tariff strategy, which has been marked by constant walk-backs and mixed messaging.

One day, it’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The next, he’s reversing them. Just this month, Trump slapped a 10% tariff across most US imports — and even targeted an uninhabited pair of rocks in the Pacific Ocean with so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, the Independent reported.

Markets are jittery. Tech stocks and other tariff-sensitive sectors have taken a hit in the past two weeks. Trump responded with a temporary pause on those reciprocal tariffs and exempted tech-related imports like smartphones — for now.

Officials say the move is just temporary, but no one’s really sure if this is all a hardline strategy or just a negotiation tactic on steroids.

Loyalty vs leverage in Donald Trump's world

Underneath all the public posturing is a power dynamic worth watching. 

Elon Musk is a financial juggernaut who’s been pumping serious cash into GOP causes, even as his political persona becomes more controversial, especially after his DOGE-fueled cuts to federal agencies.

Navarro, on the flip side, is part of the old guard — one of the rare few who survived Trump’s entire first term and even took a prison sentence on the chin after refusing to cooperate with the January 6 investigation.

His loyalty is unwavering, and Trump rewards that.