Overview
- Cruz warned donors that President Trump’s 2025 tariff plan could damage the economy and lead to a 2026 Republican “bloodbath,” recounting a late-night call in which Trump allegedly replied, “F*** you, Ted.”
- He portrayed Vice President JD Vance as a protégé of Tucker Carlson and tied both to an anti-interventionist posture, alleging their influence in the ouster of Mike Waltz and the brief appointment of Daniel Davis.
- Cruz said a proposed India–U.S. trade deal was resisted inside the administration by Peter Navarro, Vance and sometimes Trump, describing his efforts as “battling” the White House to advance the agreement.
- A Cruz spokesperson said the senator remains the president’s greatest ally in the Senate and framed the disputes as fights over staff who undermine Trump’s foreign policy, while Carlson denied involvement in the personnel moves.
- Axios has not released the raw audio publicly but reports independent verification, and the disclosures have fueled discussion of GOP policy rifts and Cruz’s positioning ahead of a possible 2028 run.