U.S. President Donald Trump cursed at Senator Ted Cruz during a late-night call after the Texas Republican warned that his tariff policy could lead to economic pain and a Republican "bloodbath" in the 2026 midterms, according to a secret recording revealed by Axios.
In the nearly 10-minute recording from a 2025 donor meeting, Cruz recounted telling Trump that if 401(k) accounts fell 30 percent and supermarket prices rose sharply by the election, Republicans would lose Congress and Trump would face weekly impeachments. Cruz said Trump's response was to yell "Fxxk you, Ted."
The recording, provided by a Republican source, also shows Cruz mocking Trump's "Liberation Day" branding for tariffs and criticizing Vice President JD Vance as a "protégé" of podcaster Tucker Carlson, accusing them of shaping an anti-interventionist foreign policy.
A Cruz spokesperson said the senator remains Trump's top Senate ally, framing the dispute as a policy difference. Carlson denied influencing personnel moves. Trump and Vance's offices did not comment.
