Senator Ted Cruz ranted against Donald Trump’s trade wars while discussing tariffs with Republican donors, according to a new report.
Cruz, 55, widely expected to make another run at the White House in 2028, told the gathered crowd that he warned the president that the GOP was facing an election “bloodbath” in response to the president’s pursuit of levies against other nations rather than tackling affordability and inflation.
In response, Trump told Cruz: “F*** you, Ted.”
The Texas Republican also joked that he would instantly fire any member of his staff who used the phrase “Liberation Day” in his presence, according to Axios.
The report goes on to say that Cruz labelled Vice President JD Vance as being Tucker Carlson’s protege.
“Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker’s protégé, and they are one and the same,” Cruz allegedly said.
Cruz was Trump’s main rival during the 2016 Republican primary. The president regularly mocked Cruz, insinuating his father was involved in JFK’s assassination and insulting his wife’s looks. Despite this, Cruz publicly became one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate.
These latest recordings were made in early and middle 2025, Axios reports.
When discussing the tariff phone call, Cruz says Trump “was in a bad mood. I’ve been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them.”
“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,” Cruz said he told the president.
“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.”
That’s when the commander-in-chief responded with an expletive.
Cruz, whose interactions with former Fox News star Carlson have gone viral, with the pair disagreeing over U.S. foreign policy, particularly around Israel, was similarly critical in private.
He accused the one-time MSNBC star of being behind the appointment of Army veteran Daniel Davis as a national security advisor. Cruz said Davis “viciously hates Israel.” Cruz bragged that he then helped to oust Davis.
Cruz also said that both Carlson and Vance tried to push former national security advisor Mike Waltz out over his support for bombing Iran.
In a statement, Cruz’s spokesperson said the senator was Trump’s “greatest ally in the Senate and battles every day in the trenches to advance his agenda.”
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Carlson, meanwhile, told Axios that he had nothing to do with Davis’ hiring.
The Independent has reached out to the White House, Senator Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson for comment.
