Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Pence adviser told to keep ‘lunatic’ Navarro out of vice president’s office

‘He would write these conspiracy-filled memos that he wanted to deliver to Vice President Mike Pence,’ Olivia Troye recalls

Oliver O'Connell
New York
Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:48 EDT
Comments
Related Video: Peter Navarro claims Dr Fauci is ‘father’ of Covid

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Former Trump White House adviser Olivia Troye has said she was ordered to keep trade adviser Peter Navarro out of Vice President Mike Pence’s office during their term in office.

Ms Troye said on MSNBC that it was because he was considered a “complete lunatic” and would write “conspiracy-filled memos”.

During an appearance on The Reid Out hosted by Joy Reid, Ms Troye — who was Pence’s Homeland Security adviser and part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force — reacted to a video published by Mr Navarro in which he warned of an imminent second civil war between Democrats and Republicans.

“I think the issue is that Peter Navarro and others are still out there trying to radicalise Americans,” she told Reid.

“That’s the point of this whole thing and I almost feel like it’s projection. It’s the willingness and wanting it to happen, right?”

She added: “That’s the issue. That they want to see this happen in the United States.”

Ms Troye continued: “Look, Peter Navarro, I just want to say, was considered a complete lunatic in the West Wing of the White House.

“I had strict orders to keep him out of the vice president’s office because he would write these conspiracy-filled memos that he wanted to deliver to Vice President Mike Pence at the time, and I was specifically ordered by the vice president’s chief of staff to take those memos out of his hand and make sure that he never set foot in the office,” said the former White House staffer.

“That’s the kind of individual that we’re dealing with right now.”

Ms Troye added that Mr Navarro would distribute such memos around the rest of the West Wing to “try to get in Donald Trump’s ear”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in