Overview
- Axios reports it obtained nearly 10 minutes of early-to-mid‑2025 recordings from a Republican source, independently verified but not published.
- In the audio, Cruz warns donors that Trump’s April 2025 tariff rollout could sink 401(k)s and raise grocery prices, predicting a 2026 election “bloodbath.”
- Cruz recounts a late‑night call urging the president to reverse course on tariffs and says Trump responded with a profanity directed at him.
- He tells donors that JD Vance, Peter Navarro and sometimes Trump blocked progress on a proposed India–US trade deal, which he says he pushed to advance.
- Cruz links Vance to Tucker Carlson and alleges influence over personnel moves, which Carlson denies, while a Cruz spokesperson calls the senator the president’s greatest ally.