Recently, a public quarrel broke out between U.S. President Trump's trade policy and the head of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Trump's chief trade advisor Peter Navarro.

After being called an "idiot" and "dumber than a bag of bricks" by Musk, Navarro denied any tension in their relationship on April 13, saying everything was fine between them. He added, "I've been called worse."

On April 13, Navarro appeared on NBC. NBC Video Report Screenshot

According to reports by NBC and Fox News, on April 13, Navarro mentioned his public dispute with Musk over tariff issues during an interview with NBC. He said, "My relationship with Musk is very good."

When the reporter mentioned that Musk had insulted him, Navarro responded, "I've been called worse."

He also praised the work done by Musk-led DOGE, saying, "Musk is doing well, and his team is doing an excellent job in addressing waste, fraud, and abuse. This is a great contribution to America. No one should let cars made by such people be attacked by lunatics with Molotov cocktails."

The reporter asked Navarro if Musk disagreed with Trump's tariff policies. It was reported that Musk advocated for "zero tariffs" and wanted to establish a "free trade zone" between the United States and Europe.

Navarro responded, "Vietnam approached us first, then the EU. Zero tariffs are not beneficial to the American people, especially when dealing with countries like Vietnam; for every dollar we sell to Vietnam, they sell us fifteen dollars worth of goods. The big problem we face is non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, dumping, and value-added tax. Besides tariffs, we have no means to counteract these issues."

After announcing tariffs on 180 countries and regions worldwide, on April 9, Trump announced a 90-day deferral of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" for most countries, but retained the 10% benchmark tariff.

In response, Navarro justified this as paving the way for negotiations. When asked which countries were negotiating with the United States, Navarro did not provide specific numbers but listed candidate countries such as the UK, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, and Israel, which he described as "lining up outside the office of U.S. Trade Representative James Grail."

Previously, Navarro claimed on social media that 75 countries had contacted the United States to discuss trade agreements.

After Trump's so-called "reciprocal tariffs" caused a massive stock market crash globally, Musk blamed Navarro for the tariff policy, and Navarro retaliated.

On May 5, Musk posted on the social platform "X," stating that Navarro's Harvard economics doctorate was a bad thing, implying it would lead to arrogance and lack of wisdom, and criticized Navarro for "doing nothing." On May 7, Navarro retorted in an interview, calling Musk a mere "car assembler" and accusing him of protecting his own interests by opposing tariffs.

On May 8, Musk chose to post a series of abusive tweets on the X platform in response to Navarro's criticism.

Musk first reposted Navarro's interview video and wrote, "Navarro is a real idiot who spouts nonsense." Then, he emphasized Tesla's top-tier technology, stating that Tesla has the "most American-made cars" and is the "most vertically integrated automobile manufacturer in America, with the highest proportion of American-made components," while attacking Navarro for being "dumber than a bag of bricks."

In response, White House press secretary Leavitt said, "Obviously, they have completely different views on trade and tariffs. Boys will be boys; we'll let their public debates continue."

She also said that Trump likes to listen to people with "different opinions" and stated, "The president will consider all opinions and make the best decision based on the greatest benefit to the American public."

This article is an exclusive piece from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7492982086756827683/

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