General Discussion

Larry Remer, a veteran Democratic political consultant who ran two of Navarro’s campaigns, describes his former client as “the biggest asshole I’ve ever known.’’

So what is Navarro? Brilliant economist or idiot? Neither one. He’s someone who used to be a versatile and productive economist and is now a China-obsessed fanatic2 willing to say anything for the chance of a job in the Trump administration. He hasn’t lost 50 IQ points, he’s merely become so fixated on the dangers of Chinese trade that he no longer cares about economics. He cares only about saying things that might build support for his preferred policies, regardless of whether they’re true.

In other words, he’s now just another dime-a-dozen political hack. Trump will keep him around as long as his PhD is useful and then toss him aside.

Let me choose my words carefully: Peter Navarro is a fucking idiot.

“Dubbed “Trump’s looniest economic adviser” by the Wall Street-focused Dealbreaker, Navarro is an academic who famously made up a fake expert to quote in his books. A five-time failed political candidate in San Diego, Navarro is widely known there “as a nut,” says one veteran California GOP political consultant. Navarro’s views on trade are considered so fringy that, for years, reporters covering him have been trying unsuccessfully to find a credible source who may agree with him.”

Most people who know Navarro despise him. In an article by the Washington Post — based on the observations of 28 Trump administration staffers — Navarro is ripped for being a bad-tempered, incompetent asshole. His performance was so bad that in 2018 John Kelly, then chief of staff, ordered an investigation of his workplace conduct.

His performance was so dismal the SEC investigated his award of a $765 million federal loan to fund the launch of a new pharmaceutical division at Kodak – a company with no pharmaceutical experience.

And the Democrats on a House Oversight and Reform subcommittee concluded that Navarro was responsible for wasting more than $500 million by overpaying for ventilators manufactured by Philips. Navarro agreed to pay almost five times more per unit than the Obama administration had, accepting the manufacturer’s opening bid without bargaining.