Featured Image Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Contributor / Getty
Just in case you thought President Donald Trump didn't have enough tariff troubles to worry about, we imagine it's not a good look when your so-called 'First Buddy' suggests that you've made the wrong decision.
With the POTUS accused of triggering a global trade war and wiping trillions off the stock market, he surely hoped that Musk would be firmly by his side to champion these controversial changes.
It all started so well for Donald Trump and Elon Musk, with the President even saying he'd have anyone in his cabinet who disagrees with the tech billionaire thrown out.
However, as we hit Trump's first 100 days in office and Trumpenomics come into full effect, the cracks could be about to show.
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While not necessarily critical of the man himself, Musk suggested that Trump was wrong to levy tariffs on the European Union, even going as far as calling for a 'free-trade zone'.
This was exasperated by Kimbal Musk going on a rampage and launching a savage attack on the tariffs.
Despite talks of a MAGA civil war, senior adviser Peter Navarro claims everything is still rosy over at the White House. Speaking to NBC's Kristen Welker, Navarro downplayed the idea that there's any civil unrest, also saying that things are fine between him and Musk after the world's richest man said he was "dumber than a sack of bricks." Talking about the recent tensions, Navarro reiterated: "Everything’s fine with Elon, I’ve been called worse.”
Continuing to praise the billionaire, Navarro added: "Elon is doing a very good job with his team with waste, fraud and abuse. That's a tremendous contribution to America."
This comes after a previous interview with CNBC, where Navarro hinted that Musk is at odds with the Trump administration's tariff plans. Back then, the adviser explained: "We all understand in the White House, and the American people understand, that Elon’s a car manufacturer. But he’s not a car manufacturer; he’s a car assembler in many cases."
Saying that Musk imports many of Tesla's parts from Japan, China, and Taiwan, he continued: "The difference is, in our thinking and Elon’s on this, is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here."
It was that interview that sparked Musk's brick comment, also branding Navarro as a 'moron'.
It's hard to keep track of tariffs right now, and after a war erupted between China and the USA, Trump delayed a mass of reciprocal tariffs and kept a pause on duties at 10% for 90 days.
A deluge of deals are expected to come through, while Navarro has defended the President's decision to levy these customized tariffs, only to look like he's walked them back in a matter of days: "This is unfolding exactly like we thought it would, in a dominant scenario...We’ve got 90 deals in 90 days possibly pending here, and it was par for the course.
"Actually, it was a birdie for President Trump to do exactly what he did, which was pause for 90 days, and we’re going to get this done for the American people."
Trump had said that 75 countries were trying to negotiate deals, and even though Navarro wouldn't give an exact number, he said the likes of the United Kingdom, the European Union, India, and Japan were just some of those 'lining up' outside the door of U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer.
As for Musk and Trump, we're reminded of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt brushing off any potential sparring with a simple "boys will be boys."
