Gage Skidmore
Elon Musk speaking at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Photo by Creative Commons.
It started with a tweet and ended with a roast. On Tuesday, Apr. 8, Musk insulted Donald Trump’s senior trade advisor, Peter Navarro, calling him a moron on social media after Navorro comments on Musk’s cars having parts from Japan, China, and Taiwan. Musk claims Navarro is lying and goes as far as calling him a derogatory term. Musk says that Tesla has the most American-made cars, but it isn’t immune to tariffs either, and he knows that. His Tuesday remarks come after he posted and later deleted, saying that Navorro’s PhD from Harvard is a bad thing and that he’s never built sh*t. Navorro said to CNBC that everything is fine with Musk, and there is no problem. Musk has also drifted from Trump on tariffs, posting videos about free trade and even talking at an Italian event about there being no tariffs between the US and Europe. It is not the first time that Trump and Musk have disagreed on a policy or personal pick. The White House isn’t taking Musk’s comments to heart. All of this information came from a CNN article written by Hadas Gold:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/business/elon-musk-peter-navarro-comments-tariffs
Amid the back-and-forth between public figures, students watching from the sidelines offered their take on the situation.
“I think it’s interesting what state our world is in. Where’s the line ‘Boys will be boys, let their public sparring continue.’ That’s not professional; regardless of what politics you agree on, it doesn’t feel right,” Percy Bolen, 11, said.
Echoing the frustration, Xitlalic Mendez, 12, pointed out the deeper impact of public behavior this situation carries.
“I feel like honestly these adults or politicians, they are acting very childish, which is not okay because it shows us the new generation coming into politics how to act. When this is not the way you should act and you should approach it differently,” Mendez said.
Others, like Javier Alcantar, 9, focused more on the shifting political relationships behind the drama.
“I believe that Elon Musk is not having as good a relationship as he had with Donald Trump,” Alcantar said.
Offering a dose of reality with a side of wisdom, Elyrrie Rivera, 10, reminded everyone that politics isn’t just a game of power; it’s a group project.
“I think everyone has to work together because we all share this world and were not promised another day. At the end of the day, Trump only cares about money and himself,” Rivera said.