White House trade adviser Peter Navarro ripped reports Sunday that senior Trump administration officials were complaining that he used “guerilla warfare” tactics in the West Wing to unduly influence President Trump’s economic policy, including lobbying for Trump’s hastily announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
“I would say that sitting here on a Sunday with you, that’s a bit of a cheap shot, that there’s no facts and evidence to support that,” Navarro told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” when asked to respond to the accusations.
“And if I’ve learned anything in the 14 months here in Washington in the White House is that there’s all sorts of malicious leaks that go in that try to hurt us,” Navarro continued.
Peter Navarro, White House Trade Adviser tells Chris: The culture in the White House now is that if they go after one of us, they go after all of us. pic.twitter.com/VQzxKVxgWa
— Pat Ward (@WardDPatrick) March 4, 2018
Navarro added the White House was no longer plagued by infighting like it had been earlier in Trump’s term when figures like Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon were still members of the administration.
“The culture in the White House now is that if they go after one of us, they go after all of us. We’re a team together. The president is doing a great job,” he said.
Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports Thursday without consulting key departments first, allegedly catching many aides and congressional allies off-guard.
