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.