"Boys will be boys," White House says, as Musk calls Navarro "moron"
Elon Musk and Peter Navarro in the Oval Office. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Elon Musk escalated his war of words with Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday, calling him "truly a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks" over comments about Musk's businesses.
Why it matters: The gloves are off, and Musk — who has already challenged Trump's trade policy publicly — is now getting increasingly personal with the architect of that policy, too.
The big picture: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked for comment on the Musk-Navarro spat at the daily press briefing, replied with a smile: "Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue."
- Musk, the 53-year-old Tesla CEO, is worth $350 billion and has unprecedented influence over the mechanics of government.
- Navarro, 75, is leading the administration's effort to re-wire the global economy.
Catch up quick: It all started last Saturday, when a poster on X defended Navarro's intellect as a voice on trade. Musk replied that Navarro's Harvard Ph.D. suggested he had more ego than brains, and that he "ain't built s--t."
- Navarro, in TV appearances in recent days, pushed back, saying Musk wasn't a car manufacturer, just an assembler of parts.
Driving the news: Musk's had enough of that argument.
- "Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false," Musk wrote on X in response to a clip of Navarro on CNBC talking about Tesla and its supply chain.
- In the same thread, Musk called Navarro "dumber than a sack of bricks" and told him to go ask "Ron Vara" — the fictional economist Navarro quoted in his books.
The intrigue: There's been little daylight between Trump and "first buddy" Musk until now.
- But Musk blasting Navarro, telling Italian politicians he wanted more free trade, and his brother calling the tariffs a destructive tax on consumers makes clear there's now a rift between the two on a crucial issue.
What to watch: Trump hasn't yet sounded off on Musk's public agitation.
- It's not clear how long that will last.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with White House comments