Kimball Musk, the brother of tech billionaire and federal agency leader Elon Musk, publicly called on President Trump to fire his senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, in a blunt post Tuesday night that escalated an already heated feud within Trump’s inner circle.
Taking to the social platform X, Kimball Musk tagged Trump directly and wrote, “@realDonaldTrump Mr President, if Peter Navarro has lied to you about Ron Vara, what else has he lied to you about? Put America first and fire him!”
His post comes on the heels of a bitter back-and-forth between Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Navarro, a longtime Trump trade adviser and outspoken proponent of tariffs. The two have clashed over Trump’s controversial trade policies and the impact those tariffs are having on American manufacturers.
Elon Musk didn’t hold back in his own comments earlier this week, directly attacking Navarro’s credibility. “Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk wrote on X in response to a video clip where Navarro argued that Tesla is not a car manufacturer but merely a ‘car assembler.’
Musk continued, saying, “Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” and mocked the adviser’s past use of a fictional expert named Ron Vara, who Navarro previously cited in academic and policy writings. “Tell Navarro to ask his fake expert Ron Vara,” Musk quipped sarcastically.
The public airing of internal Republican tensions is drawing attention not just for the sharp tone, but because it reflects deeper divisions within Trump’s team over trade policy. Elon Musk, despite being a prominent Trump ally and now a top official in the federal government, has long criticized broad tariffs, arguing they hurt American companies and consumers more than foreign competitors.
Navarro, on the other hand, remains a die-hard proponent of Trump’s tariff strategy, defending the measures as necessary to combat foreign trade abuses and protect U.S. jobs. His claims about Tesla, however, have ignited a storm of backlash from the Musk camp and raised fresh questions about his influence within the administration.
Kimball Musk’s remarks now add another layer to the controversy, signaling that even those close to Trump’s trusted allies are questioning Navarro’s role and truthfulness.
As the internal friction grows louder, some are now wondering if Trump will be forced to choose between two of his highest-profile backers and whether public infighting will further complicate an already volatile economic policy landscape.