Talks between the US and India on a trade deal have been stuck for ages. Rounds of negotiations haven’t budged things, but now there’s a bombshell leak shaking it all up. An Axios report dropped details from a secret recording of Republican Senator Ted Cruz. In it, Cruz slams Vice President JD Vance and White House economic advisor Peter Navarro for blocking the US-India trade agreement.
As per Axios, Cruz has said that Navarro, Vance and sometimes Trump have been blocking the deal.
Another leak, this time on Axios.
“Ted Cruz told the donors about "battling" the White House to accept a trade agreement with India. When a donor asks who in the administration is resistant to reaching such accords, Cruz mentions White House economic adviser Peter Navarro,…
— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) January 25, 2026
The audio, about 10 minutes long and time-stamped from early and mid-2025, came from a Republican insider as per Axios. Though the audio has not been released publicly, Axios confirmed through independent verification that the recordings are authentic. Cruz comes off as a classic free-trade Republican, reportedly eyeing a 2028 Presidential run. He paints Vance as a puppet of conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson, someone Cruz has long feuded with, even calling out Carlson for anti-Semitism and anti-Israel views. Cruz also takes shots at President Trump’s tariff policies, warning they’re a disaster waiting to happen.
Trump blows up at senators over tariff fears
The Axios reports that Cruz conveyed to donors that Trump’s tariffs could tank the US economy big time. He warned they might even lead to Trump’s impeachment. Back in early April 2025, Cruz and some other senators jumped on a late-night call with Trump to beg him to back off the tariffs. Cruz told donors it was a total mess, “It did not go well.”
Trump was in a foul mood, yelling and cursing up a storm. Cruz put it plainly: “Trump was in a bad mood. I’ve been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of those.” Cruz laid out the nightmare scenario for Trump: “President, if we get to November 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. 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.”
Trump didn’t take it well. He fired back bluntly and angrily: “**** you, Ted.” The call ended badly, highlighting deep rifts in the party over tariffs hurting everyday Americans, higher prices at stores, shrinking retirement savings, and midterm election wipeouts. Cruz’s leak ties right back to the stalled India trade deal, where anti-deal hardliners like Vance and Navarro are digging in their heels, clashing with free-trade voices like Cruz.
Axios hasn’t released the full audio yet, but the story’s blowing up Republican circles. It shows how tariff fights and trade standoffs, like with India, are splitting the GOP from within.
