Trump shuffle: Suddenly trade guru Navarro takes spotlight
WASHINGTON — In the squabbling Trump White House, no insider is ever above rebuke and no one blacklisted beyond redemption. Trade adviser Peter Navarro, once barred from sending private emails and spotted skulking in West Wing hallways, has abruptly emerged from the chaos ascendant.
With his chief ideological rival, Gary Cohn, now headed for the exit, Navarro and his protectionist trade policies are taking center stage as President Donald Trump prepares to impose the steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that Navarro has long championed.
Navarro, a 68-year-old former economics professor whose ideas were once considered well outside the mainstream, joined the Trump campaign in 2016 after one of his books on China happened to catch the eye of Trump son-inlaw Jared Kushner during an internet search.
From the presidential campaign, Navarro made the leap to the new administration to head a new White House National Trade Council. But he was quickly sidelined by chief of staff John Kelly and closely managed by former staff secretary Rob Porter.
As alliances shifted and staffers departed, though, Navarro made his move, encouraging Trump to embrace a plan that many economists, lawmakers and White House aides warn could lead to a trade war and imperil U.S. economic gains.
The president and the combative Navarro share the same hard-line views on trade that were a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign. For decades, both men have accused China of unfair trade practices that have displaced American workers and hobbled the U.S. manufacturing base.
“Peter speaks the same language as Trump does on these issues,” said Stephen Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser who is now a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation. “He and Trump agree on an America First policy when it comes to trade and other issues, so he has emerged as a policy force in this administration.”
Like Stephen Miller on immigration, Navarro has now become the face of Trump’s trade plan. In interviews since Trump’s surprise promise to impose the sweeping tariffs, Navarro has forcefully defended his boss and minimized any potential negative impact on the U.S.
“There’s negligibleto-nothing effects,” he said dismissively on CBS, later accusing the media of hyping prospects of a trade war.