Ted Cruz Caught Slamming Trump and JD Vance in 10 Minutes of Secret Recordings: Report

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has spent years as a staunch MAGA ally, backing President Donald Trump soon after Cruz lost to him in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.

But in newly surfaced secret recordings obtained by Axios, Cruz appears far more skeptical in private, criticizing key administration moves and suggesting that outside figures are shaping major decisions.

The audio — reportedly captured during two meetings with Republican donors last year — includes nearly 10 minutes in which Cruz ridicules Trump’s tariff rollout, claims Vice President JD Vance is a “protégé” of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, and argues that outside pressure led to the selection of Army veteran Daniel Davis for a senior intelligence role, despite Cruz’s claim that Davis “viciously hates Israel.”

In one recording, Cruz is said to mock the president’s “Liberation Day” event in April 2025, where Trump announced sweeping tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports.

“I’ve told my team if anyone uses those words, they will be terminated on the spot. That is not language we use,” he says of the “Liberation Day” label.

Cruz also reportedly describes a phone call he and other senators had with Trump after the announcement, warning that the tariffs could rattle the economy — and even put Trump’s presidency at risk.

“Trump was in a bad mood,” Cruz reportedly tells donors, saying the president was “yelling” and “cursing.”

“I’ve been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them,” he adds.

In another moment, Cruz reportedly recalls telling Trump that a sharp downturn could trigger a “bloodbath” in the 2026 midterm elections.

“[I said] 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,” he says.

Trump’s alleged reply: “F— you, Ted.”

Elsewhere on the tapes, Cruz reportedly takes aim at Vance while focusing on his ties to Carlson.

“Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker’s protégé, and they are one and the same,” Cruz reportedly says.

Cruz’s hostility toward Carlson has drawn attention over the past year. The senator accused the former Fox News personality of antisemitism after Carlson interviewed White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, whom Cruz called a “little goose-stepping Nazi.”

Cruz also had his own blowup interview with Carlson months earlier, in which Carlson attacked him for suggesting he was antisemitic over his views on Israel.

Cruz has criticized Carlson for foreign-policy positions he views as too isolationist, including arguments that the U.S. should downgrade Israel’s priority in favor of partnerships with Gulf states.

In a statement to Axios in November 2025, Cruz said, “We have a responsibility to speak out even when it’s uncomfortable. When voices in our own movement push dangerous and misguided ideas, we can’t look the other way. I won’t hesitate to call out those who peddle destructive, vile rhetoric and threaten our principles and our future. Silence in the face of recklessness is not an option.”

However, Cruz has largely avoided publicly tying Vance to Carlson as directly as he reportedly did in the private donor meetings.

Axios also reports that Cruz accuses Vance and Carlson of pushing their own agendas in internal staffing fights.

He allegedly claims the two helped push Trump to fire former national security adviser Mike Waltz because Waltz “supported being vigorous against Iran and bombing Iran — and Tucker and JD took Mike out.”

He also reportedly blames them for the selection of Army veteran Daniel Davis for a senior national intelligence position, again alleging Davis “viciously hates Israel.” National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard later withdrew Davis’ nomination after pressure from other Republicans.

Carlson told Axios that he “didn’t have anything to do” with Waltz’s ouster or Davis’ hiring.

In a statement about the recordings, a spokesperson for Cruz said the senator is “the president’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,” the statement added. “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.”

Despite the leaked audio, Cruz is scheduled to appear with Trump at a summit on Wednesday, Jan. 28, celebrating the launch of “Trump Accounts,” a program that would provide seed money to newborn babies in the United States.

The White House, the vice president’s office, and Davis were also contacted for comment on Axios’ reporting.