Newly obtained recordings reportedly capture Ted Cruz criticising Donald Trump's trade policies in private meetings with Republican donors, unearthing tensions between the Texas senator and the president over tariffs.
According to Axios, Cruz warned Trump during an April 2025 phone call that the Republicans faced an election “bloodbath” in the 2026 midterms unless the administration shifted focus to tackling inflation and affordability. The senator said he told the president: “Mr President, if we get to November of [2026] and people's 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10–20% at the supermarket, we're going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath.” He added that the GOP would lose the House and Senate, leaving Trump facing impeachment “every single week”. Trump reportedly responded with an expletive, saying: “F*** you, Ted.”
The recordings, made in early and middle 2025, also capture Cruz joking that he would sack any staff member who used the phrase “Liberation Day” in his presence. He is said to have described Vice President JD Vance as a “protégé” of Tucker Carlson, saying: “Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker's protégé, and they are one and the same.”
Cruz also reportedly accused Carlson of pushing the appointment of Army veteran Daniel Davis as a national security adviser, claiming Davis “viciously hates Israel”. The senator said he helped oust Davis from the role. In addition, Cruz alleged that both Carlson and Vance attempted to remove former national security adviser Mike Waltz over his support for bombing Iran.
In response, a spokesperson for Cruz said the senator was Trump’s “greatest ally in the Senate and battles every day in the trenches to advance his agenda”. The spokesperson added: “Those battles include fights over staffers who try to enter the administration despite disagreeing with the president and seeking to undermine his foreign policy. Sen. Cruz is proud of those fights, his accomplishments, and his close relationship with the president. These attempts at sowing division are pathetic and getting boring.” Carlson denied involvement in Davis’s hiring. The White House, Cruz, and Carlson have been contacted for comment.
