Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro often quotes a nonexistent economist named 'Ron Vara'


President Trump is getting two trade advisers for the price of one.
On paper, Trump's top trade adviser is Peter Navarro, an unapologetic defender of Trump and critic of China. But inside Navarro's own brain is Ron Vara, an untraceable economist frequently quoted in Navarro's books whose name happens to be an anagram of Navarro, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
Vara has made appearances across Navarro's economic books for at least 20 years, often authoring an epigraph before Navarro's chapters. They've contained fun Vara-branded aphorisms like "don't play checkers in a chess world" and questionable ones such as "only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a lethal weapon, and a cellphone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel." A 2001 book revealed the most detail about Vara, saying he was a "struggling doctoral student in economics" at Harvard in the mid-1980s. The Chronicle found no record of Vara at Harvard at that time, though that is when Navarro attended the school.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Navarro, in a statement, admitted that Vara is a "whimsical device and pen name I've used throughout the years" and said it was "refreshing" that someone finally figured it out. After all, even Navarro's one-time co-author Glenn Hubbard, when asked by the Chronicle, said he had no idea Vara was fictional. Read more about Navarro's alter ego at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US