Ted Cruz has triggered turmoil within the Republican Party after recordings emerged in which the US Senator from Texas criticised the tariff strategy of President Donald Trump and called Vice President J.D. Vance a puppet of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

The recordings also have Cruz accusing Vance and White House adviser Peter Navarro of blocking a potential trade agreement with India, Axios reported.

The nearly 10-minute recording – which captures Cruz speaking candidly to private donors during meetings held in early and mid-2025 – was provided to Axios by a Republican source.

In the sessions, Cruz cast himself as a traditional free-trade, pro-interventionist Republican, positioning for a possible 2028 primary challenge against the more cautious Vance.

Cruz repeatedly described Vance as a political extension of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

“Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker’s protege, and they are one and the same,” he told donors, echoing earlier criticisms of Carlson’s alleged anti-Israel stance.

Cruz is among the Republican senators who have opposed the tariff regime introduced by Trump after he assumed office in January 2025. In the recordings, Cruz reportedly recalls a discussion with Trump over the issue that ended abruptly, with the President allegedly responding with an expletive directed at the senator.

He recounted a late-night April 2025 call, shortly after the US President announced his protectionist measures, in which he and other senators urged Trump to reconsider. “It did not go well,” Cruz said.

According to Axios report, Cruz warned Trump that continuing on the tariff path could devastate the economy, and him: “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's response, according to Cruz: "F**k you, Ted."

The senator also revealed the internal pushback he faced on trade deals with India. He specifically called out Navarro, Vance, and “sometimes” Trump as resisting the initiative.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Friday signalled the potential removal of the additional 25 per cent tariffs on India following a sharp reduction in Indian imports of Russian oil.

Beyond trade, Cruz accused Vance and Carlson of orchestrating the removal of former national security adviser Mike Waltz, who supported bombing Iran.