Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has reportedly privately criticized President Donald Trump's tariff policy and Vice President JD Vance in donor meetings last year.

Cruz Privately Warned Tariffs Could Wreck Economy

In recordings spanning nearly 10 minutes obtained by Axios, Cruz warned donors that Trump's tariffs risked severe economic fallout, including sharp market losses and rising consumer prices.

The Texas Republican, positioning himself for a potential 2028 presidential bid, argued that prolonged hits to retirement accounts and household budgets could cost Republicans Congress in 2026 and subject Trump to repeated impeachment fights.

In these recordings, Cruz recounted a late-night call with Trump shortly after the tariffs were announced in April 2025, saying he and other senators urged the president to reverse course.

The discussion, Cruz said, went poorly, with Trump angry and combative. “Trump was in a bad mood,” Cruz told the donors.

The recordings are provided to Axios by a Republican source.

Sharp Divide With JD Vance And Tucker Carlson

The Texas senator repeatedly targeted Vice President Vance, portraying him as closely aligned with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and hostile to traditional Republican foreign policy.

Cruz framed himself as a free-trade, interventionist conservative, contrasting that stance with what he described as Vance's skepticism of U.S. involvement abroad.

The senator also accused Vance and Carlson of influencing key national security personnel decisions, including the removal of officials seen as more aggressive toward Iran and supportive of Israel.

“Tucker and JD took Mike out,” the senator told donors, referring to former national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Trade, India And White House Resistance

During the donor sessions, Cruz, in the recordings, said he had clashed with the White House over pursuing a trade agreement with India, naming economic adviser Peter Navarro and Vance as among those resistant, along with Trump at times.

Public Loyalty, Private Friction

Despite the remarks, a Cruz spokesperson told the publication that the senator remains the president's strongest ally in the Senate and regularly fights to advance Trump's agenda.

In a statement to the publication, Carlson denied involvement in personnel decisions cited by Cruz.

The White House, Cruz or Carlson did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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