Who Is Trump's Trade Adviser Peter Navarro? A Convicted Felon & Once Dubbed ‘Moron’ By Musk

Last Updated:August 08, 2025, 12:24 IST

Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro has accused India of using the American dollars to buy Russian oil, claiming that money is used by Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Peter Navarro is Donald Trump's chief trade adviser (Reuters Image)

Amid ongoing tensions with India, Peter Navarro, Donald Trump’s chief trade adviser, has accused New Delhi of using American dollars to buy Russian oil – which is then, he claimed – used by Moscow to wage a war in Ukraine.

When confronted by a CNN reporter on why India was slapped with 50% tariffs for buying the Russian oil but not China, which buys more than its Asian competitor, Navarro confessed on camera that the US does not want to reach a point “where we actually hurt ourselves".

He then patted on his back, stating that he had given a “really good answer".

“As the boss says, let’s see what happens. Keep in mind that we have over 50 percent tariffs on China already. So we don’t want to get to the point where we actually hurt ourselves. We send a lot of dollars overseas to India to buy their products. India then uses American dollars to buy Russian oil. Russia then uses the American dollars that come from India to finance its armaments to kill Ukrainians," he told reporters.

His answer was met with criticism online, where experts called out the duplicity of the United States.

“So, the policy is to hurt others but not themselves. What a cynical confession!" former Foreign Secretary of India, Kanwal Sibal, tweeted.

Who Is Peter Navarro?

• Navarro is the chief trade adviser to Donald Trump and a driving force behind the trade war with China and tariffs across the world.
• He is a convicted felon who served four months of a jail term for attempting to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results. After Trump lost the election to Biden that year, Navarro claimed that it was rigged and tried to delay its approval. He refused to cooperate with a congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Riot and was found guilty of ignoring subpoenas from the committee.
• He has a master’s degree in public administration and a PhD in Economics from Harvard.
• He taught Economics at universities in San Diego and researched public utilities before becoming a professor of Economics and Public Policy at UCI in 1989.
• He ran as a Democrat for positions such as San Diego mayor and US Congress; however, he lost.
• During the 2016 presidential race, Trump reportedly asked his son-in-law Jared Kushner to carry out a research to bolster his views on China. Kushner then came across Navarro’s book ‘Death By China’ online, after which Navarro was taken on board, where he was hired as the campaign’s trade advisor, The Guardian reported.
• He played a key role in economic policy, the COVID pandemic, and the bid to overturn the 2020 polls. He has emerged more influential than ever in Trump’s second term, even after his conviction months ago.
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who played a key role in Trump 2.0 as the DOGE chief, had earlier described Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks", adding that he was “truly a moron". “Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false. Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks," Musk said on X on April 8 this year.

Ashesh Mallick

Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes...Read More

Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes...

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First Published:

August 08, 2025, 12:21 IST

News world Who Is Trump's Trade Adviser Peter Navarro? A Convicted Felon & Once Dubbed ‘Moron’ By Musk

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