White House Waves Off Musk-Navarro Squabble

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have had a time of it over the past week. Both have openly shared biting comments toward, and about, each other.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a Tuesday afternoon briefing that the ongoing exchange should be considered nothing more than the administration being "transparent."

While the comments have seemingly been aimed at each other's thoughts on tariffs and trade strategy employed by President Donald Trump and the administration, some of the comments have been sharp. In one of the latest darts, Musk termed Navarro a "moron" and said he was "dumber than a sack of bricks."

Leavitt waved it all off and said, "Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue."

She said it isn't a big deal, noting, "Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs."

Leavitt added, "And I think it also speaks to the president's willingness to hear from all sides that he has people at the highest levels of this government, in this White House, who have very diverse opinions on very diverse issues."

• Trump Adviser Navarro Responds to Musk on Tariffs
• Musk Uses Late Milton Friedman to Explain Trade