Secret recordings obtained by Axios reveal that Sen. Ted Cruz privately criticized President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and took shots at Vice President JD Vance while speaking to Republican donors, offering a rare glimpse into behind-the-scenes tensions within the GOP.
According to the Axios report published Sunday, the recordings date back to mid-2025, shortly after President Trump rolled out his “Liberation Day” tariff plan in early April. In one recording, Cruz described a lengthy late-night phone call involving Trump and several Republican senators, during which they attempted to persuade the president to back off the tariffs.
Cruz told donors that the group of lawmakers “urged him to stand down” on the policy, but said the conversation quickly went south. He recounted that the call “did not go well,” claiming Trump became angry, raised his voice, and lashed out at the senators.
“Trump was in a bad mood,” Cruz said, according to the recording.
Cruz told donors that he warned the president about the political fallout he believed the tariffs could cause if they hurt consumers and investors heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Cruz said he laid out a bleak scenario in which Americans’ retirement accounts took a major hit while grocery prices surged.
“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 and face a bloodbath,” Cruz said he told Trump.
According to Cruz’s account, he went further, warning that the tariffs could cost Republicans control of Congress and paralyze Trump’s presidency.
“You’re going to lose the House, you’re going to lose the Senate, you’re going to spend the next two years being impeached every single week,” Cruz said he warned.
Cruz told donors that Trump responded bluntly and angrily, allegedly telling him, “F— you, Ted.”
The private criticism closely mirrored Cruz’s public comments at the time. In early April 2025, Cruz openly warned that broad tariffs could be “terrible for America.” While Wall Street initially reacted negatively to Trump’s tariff announcement, markets later rebounded sharply. Since the initial downturn last April, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed roughly 28%, the S&P 500 has risen about 40%, and the Nasdaq is up nearly 50%.
The recordings also captured Cruz using the donor setting to differentiate himself as a potential alternative for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Cruz spoke critically about Vice President JD Vance, particularly his foreign policy views.
Cruz told donors that Vance’s anti-interventionist stance was heavily influenced by conservative media figure Tucker Carlson. In the recording, Cruz argued that Carlson played a central role in shaping Vance’s worldview and political rise.
“Tucker created JD,” Cruz said, according to Axios. “JD is Tucker’s protégé, and they are one and the same.”
The comments suggest Cruz was attempting to position himself as a different kind of Republican leader, especially on foreign policy, while appealing to donors who may be skeptical of Vance’s approach.
The recordings underscore the divide between public unity and private disagreements within the Republican Party, particularly as Trump’s economic agenda and the party’s future leadership continue to be debated behind closed doors.
