As Elon Musk called one of US President Donald Trump’s top economic aides a “moron,” the White House on Tuesday declared that “boys will be boys.”
Musk and long-time Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro have been squabbling publicly over Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on most of its trading partners.
The move has triggered a market sell-off and prompted analysts to wonder if the US is headed into a recession.
Photo: Reuters
“Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue.”
Navarro on Monday on CNBC had dismissed a push by billionaire and Tesla CEO Musk for “zero tariffs” between the US and Europe, calling him a “car assembler” reliant on imported parts, and said he wanted the parts to be manufactured locally in the US.
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk wrote in a post on X in a response to a video clip of Navarro’s interview.
“Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” he wrote.
Navarro is widely seen as the architect of Trump’s wide-ranging tariff plans. The policy is intended to revive US manufacturing and shore up national security, but has hammered markets and thrown global supply chains into uncertainty.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the