Last summer, Harvard-educated economist Peter Navarro was released from a federal prison in Miami just in time to fly to Milwaukee and deliver an impassioned speech at the Republican National Convention.
“The January 6 committee wanted me to turn on Donald John Trump to save myself,” he exclaimed, referencing the Congressional subpoena he defied, which led to a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
“I refused!” The audience erupted in applause.
Navarro’s electrifying moment demonstrated how the former economics professor, who has returned to the White House as President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for trade and manufacturing policy, had ascended to Maga royalty.
“Loyalty is highly valued in this administration,” remarked one Washington lobbyist. “There’s no doubt about Navarro’s allegiance to Trump — that’s why he wields significant influence.”
Once often sidelined during Trump’s first term, Navarro has now taken charge of trade, implementing an early array of tariffs and investigations that reflect his distinct priorities.
These priorities include safeguarding the U.S. steel and aluminum industries from subsidized Chinese products, imposing tariffs on all imports from China, and applying broad “reciprocal” tariffs to reduce the nation’s trade deficit and enhance manufacturing.
Whereas during the previous administration, Navarro was frequently constrained by more free-market oriented advisers like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin or National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, he encounters much less resistance in Trump 2.0.
Sources familiar with the administration’s dynamics indicate that Navarro is collaborating closely with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the president’s choice for trade representative.
Lutnick, a billionaire Wall Street financier, has unexpectedly emerged as a tariff supporter, while Greer, a trade attorney, has long championed tariffs and other protectionist trade policies.
People describe Trump as having strong trust in Navarro, referring to him affectionately as “my Peter,” and granting him considerable freedom over trade policy.
Often labeled a “trade hawk,” Navarro has consistently been known for his protectionist views and animosity towards China. In his 2011 book Death by China, he claimed that Beijing violated global trade norms through illegal export subsidies and currency manipulation.
During Trump’s first term in the Oval Office, Navarro advocated for high tariffs on Chinese imports and in 2018 urged the president to block visas for Chinese students — a recommendation that Trump ultimately declined.
“He perceives an existential threat to the U.S. economically, militarily, and geopolitically from China,” noted a longtime observer of Navarro. “His focus on this issue is intense.”
However, the freewheeling Navarro also has a reputation for whimsical flights of imagination. In 2019, it was revealed that he had introduced a fictional alter ego — Ron Vara — into many of his writings on trade and economic policy.
The fictional Vara is quoted in his 2006 book The Coming China Wars, expressing that: “You’ve got to be crazy to eat Chinese food.” In Death by China, Vara remarks: “Only the Chinese can transform a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a deadly weapon, and a cell phone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel.”
Hunter Morgen, who served as a special adviser to Trump during his first term and worked alongside Navarro for three years during that period, described his motivations as stemming from “a place of love for the overlooked men and women of this country.”
“He understands that a robust trade and industrial policy is the pathway to domestic supremacy,” Morgen, now a partner at the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, said.
Similar to Trump, Navarro has not always been a steadfast ally of the Republican Party. He made several unsuccessful attempts to secure political office in California, including a run as an independent candidate for mayor of San Diego in 1992 and a bid for California’s 49th congressional district as a Democrat in 1996.
During his 1996 campaign, Navarro delivered a stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention endorsing Hillary Clinton, where he advocated for Medicare, Social Security, women’s right to choose, and strong environmental protections for clean water and air.
Nearly two decades later, Navarro found himself in the orbit of the emerging Trump campaign, at a time when mainstream political analysts were still skeptical of his chances to win the presidency.
“Many individuals saw an opportunity to engage with a political framework that most never anticipated would evolve into a legitimate presidential campaign,” remarked someone familiar with the initial stages.
“Trump’s message at that time resonated with Navarro’s belief that Washington’s policy elites are misleading the public,” the individual continued. “It was more cultural than ideological, which explains why he gravitated towards that moment.”
Others portray Trump as merely a “vessel” for Navarro to cement his own deeply-rooted economic convictions.
“Trump has provided Navarro a platform to pursue what has been a lifelong mission,” stated one insider.
