Who is Peter Navarro? Trump Aide Who Called India ‘Laundromat for Kremlin,’ Justified Tariffs with Casteist Slur

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has once again targeted India and defended US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Navarro recently stated India as “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin” and accused the country’s Brahmin community of “profiteering at the expense of the Indian people.”

Speaking to Fox News, Navarro defended Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. His comments came after a US Court of Appeals ruled that Trump had exceeded his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by imposing wide-ranging tariffs. Navarro dismissed the court’s ruling as “weaponised partisan injustice at its worst” and said judges were acting like “politicians in black robes.”

This is not the first time Navarro has criticised India. Last week, in a Bloomberg TV interview, he called the Russia-Ukraine war “Modi’s war” and claimed the road to peace in Ukraine runs “partly through New Delhi,” referring to India’s purchase of Russian oil. In a Financial Times piece, he also labelled India’s foreign policy as “strategic freeloading.”

All about Peter Navarro?

Navarro is a longtime Trump loyalist and currently serves as the White House Senior Counsellor for trade and manufacturing. He first joined Trump’s team during the 2016 campaign and went on to play a key role in shaping protectionist trade policies, including the tariff war against China during Trump’s first term.

Born in 1949, Navarro is a Harvard-educated economist. He has authored several books, including The Coming China Wars. However, he once admitted to using a fake character named “Ron Vara” as a source in his writings.

Navarro has also had a controversial past in politics. In 2024, he was sentenced to four months in jail after being convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the January 6 probe. Despite this, Trump reappointed him in 2025, calling him a victim of the “Deep State.”

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