Overview
- Axios obtained roughly ten minutes of recordings from two private donor meetings in early and mid‑2025, supplied by a Republican source.
- Cruz warned that tariff-driven price increases and 401(k) losses could produce a 2026 election “bloodbath,” cost Republicans control of Congress, and trigger repeated impeachment efforts.
- He recounted a late‑night call urging a tariff reversal in which, according to his account, the president shouted and replied, “F**k you, Ted.”
- The audio shows Cruz rejecting “Liberation Day” rhetoric and describing resistance to trade deals from Vice President JD Vance and adviser Peter Navarro, with the president at times blocking initiatives.
- A Cruz spokesperson says he remains the president’s strongest Senate ally and that remarks were taken out of context, while Tucker Carlson disputes Cruz’s claim he shaped Vance as observers read growing GOP strains ahead of 2026 and 2028.