Time Sep

45

PETER NAVARRO ORIGINALLYset out

to be a politician not just an adviser to

one. But he had a problem: people didn’t

like him. “He had this burning desire

to be important to be in charge” says

Larry Remer a San Diego–based Demo-

cratic consultant who managed Navarro’s

campaigns. “He was right about a lot of

things. But he was just an a--hole.”

Born in Massachusetts Navarro grew

up in Florida and Maryland raised by

his mother a secretary after her divorce

from his father a musician. The family

was working-class. In high school

Navarro was a self-described “latchkey

kid” who worked multiple jobs and slept

on a sofa in a one-bedroom apartment.

He earned an academic scholarship to

Tufts University then spent three years

in Thailand with the Peace Corps.

Idealistic but adrift Navarro found

his calling in economic policy. While

pursuing his Ph.D. at Harvard he wrote

hisirst bookThe Policy Gamea screed

against the “special interests” he charged

with “stealing America.” He argued

strongly against protectionism saying

tarifs hurt consumers threatened global

stability and could lead to a trade war

that caused an “unstoppable downward

spiral by the entire world economy.”

After receiving his doctorate Navarro

moved to Southern California where

he eventually became a professor of

economics and public policy at the

University of California Irvine. His

involvement in San Diego politics

started with his opposition to developers

whom he saw as greedy despoilers of the

environment. In his memoir Navarro

called them “punks in pinstripes” and

argued that their plans would ruin the

port city’s character. He formed an anti-

growth organization called Prevent Los

Angelization Now and attempted to

parlay his activism into elected oice.

Navarro hadn’t always been a Dem-

ocrat. Before running for oice he had

been registered as both a Republican and

an independent and in his writing he

professed concern that Democrats waste

taxpayers’ money. But he was he wrote

“a strong environmentalist and a pro-

gressive on social issues such as choice

gay rights and religious freedom.” While

Republicans seemed to “prefer the ‘every

man for himself ’ approach” Navarro be-

lieved “we ought to progressively tax the

rich to help everybody else.” By the time

of his irst campaign in 1992 he was sure

he belonged in the Democratic Party.

Navarro won the Democratic primary

for San Diego mayor on his irst try. He

was ahead in the polls for the general

election when he ran an ad attacking his

Republican opponent Susan Golding

for her ex-husband’s conviction on drug-

money-laundering charges. But Golding

turned the tables portraying herself as

the victim of a smear campaign. Navarro’s

fate was sealed when in their inal debate

she tearfully recounted the pain Navarro

had caused—while he smirked.

After losing the mayoral race

Navarro ran for city council in 1993 and

JUNE 22
The E.U. retaliates
imposingtariffs on
$3.2 billion of U.S.
goodsincluding
several iconic
American products:
bourbon whiskey
motorcycles blue
jeans and peanut
butter.

JUNE 25

Harley-Davidson

announces it is

moving some of

its motorcycle

production outside

the U.S. to avoid

E.U. tariffs.Trump

responds with

an angry tweet

threatening to raise

the company’s

taxes.

JULY 1

Canada imposes

tariffs on

$12.8 billion of

U.S. products

including steel

and aluminum

agricultural

products and

consumer goods.

JULY 6

The U.S. rolls

out tariffs on

$34 billion of

Chinese goods.

China retaliates

targeting U.S. cars

and farm products.

Tariffs on another

$16 billion of

Chinese imports

are set to go into

effect on Aug. 23.

China promises to

respond in kind.

JULY 24

Trump announces

up to$12billion

in farm subsidies

for lost export

sales resulting

from tariffs. A

total of $27 billion

of agriculture

exports—such as

soybeans corn

nuts fruits and

beef—have been

affected.

AUG. 10

Trump announces

he will increase

the steel- and

aluminum-tariff rate

imposed on Turkey

in response to the

depreciation of the

Turkish lira.Turkey

responds with

new tariffs on U.S.

importssuch as

cars alcohol and

tobacco.

to do protectionism and when almost
everyone in the room is saying ‘We cannot
do that it’ll destroy the economy’ he’ll
say ‘Where’s my Peter? What does Peter
think?’ ” says a prominent conservative
trade expert. “The President looks for
validation and the folks keeping the devil
of his shoulder have disappeared.”
Trump’s tarifs have drawn retaliatory
actions and jolted the markets. They
have also created diplomatic headaches
complicating relations with America’s
closest allies. Most economists believe
that in the long run Navarro’s vision
would cause a major hit to the U.S.
economy with rising inlation bankrupt
farms and businesses and thousands
of lost jobs. “There is a lot of evidence
that inward-looking economic policies
that isolate a country from the rest of
the world are bad for that country” says
Greg Mankiw a Harvard economist who
chaired the Council of Economic Advisers
under President George W. Bush.
“You could make a list of the 100 most
prominent economists in the world and
Peter Navarro wouldn’t be on it. His views
are very very far from the mainstream.”
As the trade debate rages the policy’s
architect remains something of a mystery.
How did Navarro a Democrat whose phi-
losophy was formed by environmentalism
and anti-corporatism become the man
behind Trump’s trade war?

Navarro is the most powerful person

in Washington on the most volatile

issue of Donald Trump’s presidency