“Boys Will Be Boys”: Musk voices Trump’s top trade adviser is “A fool than a bag of bricks” and an idiot
Internal conflicts in Trump’s circle of advisers have stood out as new tariffs caused by Trump have triggered huge financial losses across the global market.
Tensions broke out further Monday when Navarro appeared on CNBC and downplayed Musk’s role in the automotive industry, describing Tesla as just “car assembly” due to its global supply chain. Musk quickly responded on X (formerly Twitter), calling Navarro a “idiot” and escalating the insult to “better than a bag of bricks.” Later, he apologized for the bricks, writing: “This is so unfair to the bricks.” Musk also used offensive slander in his subsequent articles, calling Navarro “Peter Radardo.”
So far, Trump has remained silent about the controversy between two key figures he previously praised. Although Musk’s criticism is primarily directed at Navarro, it also said Trump’s most prominent supporters disagree on core policy decisions.
The White House is trying to weaken the situation. Media Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the exchange and told reporters: “Boys will be boys and we will let their public quarrel continue.”
Navarro declined to comment during an inquiry at the White House at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. While Trump has historically allowed (sometimes encouraged) attitudes among his aides, public disputes of this range remain unusual. Navarro played a central role in Trump’s trade policy during his first term and was later jailed for temp’s view of Congress after refusing to testify in a Jan. 6 investigation. However, he publicly rejected the tariff strategy, instead advocating free trade and “zero tariffs” between the United States and Europe. Musk, currently the richest person in the world, has lost an estimated $31 billion since the tariffs were announced on April 2, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
In a harsh criticism of Navarro, Musk targeted his academic background and said he was a Harvard Ph.D. In economics, it is “a bad thing, not a good thing” and claims that Navarro “never built anything” before he later deleted the post.
Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk also joined the criticism, posting multiple messages condemning tariff policies on X. He argued that the president effectively constituted a “permanent tax on American consumers.”
Elon Musk slams critics by using the platform on X and encourages his 219 million followers to do so. Since the acquisition of the social media company, he has targeted judges and regulators who oppose his business strategy, especially those that affect the cost-cutting efforts of the Ministry of Efficiency of the Government.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to send mixed messages to tariff purposes. Navarro insists that they are not negotiation tools, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Trump still accept the discussion.
“President Trump is known to be better than anyone else,” Becent said during his appearance on Fox News.
