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Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and derided Vice President JD Vance during private donor gatherings last year, according to audio recordings obtained by Axios that capture some of the most pointed intra-party attacks from a Republican lawmaker since the administration took office.

The comments, made during two separate meetings, reveal Cruz leveling unusually blunt critiques of both Trump and Vance behind closed doors, at a time when he is widely viewed as weighing a potential 2028 presidential bid.

The recordings — totaling nearly 10 minutes — show Cruz framing himself as a pro–free trade, interventionist Republican, positioning his views in contrast to Vance’s more restrained foreign policy outlook as a possible primary challenge looms.

In the conversations, Cruz portrays Vance as closely aligned with conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson, whom Cruz has repeatedly accused in public disputes of promoting antisemitism and advocating an anti-Israel foreign policy.

The audio files were provided to Axios by a Republican source and were recorded in early and mid-2025.

In the later recording, Cruz warns donors that Trump’s tariffs risk triggering severe economic fallout and could ultimately expose the president to impeachment.

Cruz recounts that after Trump announced the tariffs in early April 2025, he and several other senators held a late-night call with the president urging him to reconsider. Cruz says the call stretched past midnight and “did not go well,” describing Trump as “yelling” and “cursing.”

“Trump was in a bad mood,” Cruz tells the donors. “I’ve been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them.”

Cruz says he cautioned Trump about the political consequences, recalling that he told the president: “Mr. President, if we get to November of [2026] 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.”

According to Cruz, Trump’s response was blunt: “[Curse] you, Ted.”

At one point during the donor session, when an attendee referenced “Liberation Day,” Trump’s label for the tariff rollout, Cruz quipped: “I’ve told my team if anyone uses those words, they will be terminated on the spot. That is not language we use.”

Cruz also told donors that he has been “battling” the White House to secure approval for a trade agreement with India. When asked which administration officials have resisted such deals, Cruz pointed to White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, Vance, and “sometimes” Trump.

Returning to Vance, Cruz again tied him closely to Carlson’s worldview, saying: “Tucker created JD. JD is Tucker’s protégé, and they are one and the same.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Rav Aharon Teitelbaum of Satmar issued a sweeping directive prohibiting yeshiva bochurim and avreichim affiliated with Satmar institutions in Israel from taking part in street protests, following a series of deadly incidents in which two bochurim were killed during  or near demonstrations against the draft law and other issues.

The directive was delivered Motzaei Shabbos during a melaveh malkah marking the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe’s grandfather, the Atzei Chaim of Sighet, in Palm Springs. In his remarks, the Rebbe addressed the recent tragedies and announced an outright ban on participation in protests by members of the Satmar community.

The Rebbe’s comments followed recent demonstrations during which two bochurim, Yosef Eisenthal and Naftali Tzvi Kramer, were killed after being struck by vehicles. The Rebbe referred to the drivers involved as “רוצח’ישע דרייווערס,” saying they deliberately drove buses into crowds in order to harm bochurim.

Recalling earlier tragedies, the Rebbe referenced the 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the Shomron by Hamas terrorists. He said: “I spoke then and asked a very difficult question: Who gives permission to send bochurim into the occupied territories? It is a place of danger, Arab murderers roam there and kill bochurim, and the parents who sent their children to a place of danger, their blood is on their hands. At the time there were many Zionists who shouted that it was not a dangerous place, but the reality is known to all: sending bochurim into the territories is murder.”

Turning to the current wave of protests, the Rebbe said: “In recent weeks, when the decree of drafting yeshiva students reached a new peak, with harsh decrees and the kidnapping of bochurim from their homes, they began organizing protests in the streets. Unfortunately, at some of these protests there are people who block roads and do improper things. Recently, two bochurim were murdered in these protests, and I want to say from here — the Zionists are no less murderers than the Arabs.”

The Rebbe continued: “Just as everyone understands that we do not send bochurim into the territories where Arab murderers roam, in the same way we do not send bochurim to protests where Zionist murderers roam. It is exactly the same thing.”

Emphasizing that the ruling applies directly to his own community, the Rebbe said: “I cannot speak for the entire world, but we have yeshivos in Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak, we have kollelim in Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak — and I want from here to forbid our people not to participate in these protests where Zionist murderers are present.”

Citing the principle of ‘al pi shnayim eidim yakum davar’, the Rebbe added: “Two bochurim were murdered by the Zionist murderers, and that is enough.” He requested that his words be publicized in every place where there is a Satmar community, saying, “It needs to be heard throughout all of Eretz Yisrael.”

The Rebbe concluded by citing the Gemara in Chullin that “chamira sakanta mei’isura” — danger is more severe than prohibition and invoked the teachings of the Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, the Divrei Yoel. He said that anyone familiar with how the Divrei Yoel led the struggle against Zionism knew that he recognized the danger involved, and therefore ruled that all members of the Satmar community are forbidden from participating in such demonstrations.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Chinese President Xi Jinping has moved against one of his most senior and once most trusted military leaders, placing Gen. Zhang Youxia under investigation amid allegations that he leaked nuclear weapons secrets to the United States and accepted bribes in exchange for promotions. Zhang, 75, the first-ranked vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, was […]

President Trump said his administration is examining the fatal shooting of an armed protester by federal agents during an anti-ICE demonstration in Minneapolis, signaling that a formal assessment of the incident is underway.

“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal during a brief phone interview Sunday night, stopping short of offering a personal judgment on whether the agent’s actions were warranted.

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said in the same call. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”

Authorities identified the man killed as 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who had joined the protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials in Minnesota said Pretti was armed with a handgun at the time of the encounter and possessed a valid concealed carry permit.

Video footage that spread rapidly online appears to capture the moments leading up to the shooting, showing a struggle in which one agent seems to pull a firearm from Pretti’s waistband while other officers restrain him on the pavement. Seconds later, gunfire is heard, after which Pretti becomes motionless and was later declared dead.

Trump also indicated that the surge of federal personnel sent to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area would not be permanent, suggesting the deployment would be scaled back in the future.

“At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” he told the Journal.

He did not say when the federal agents would be withdrawn.

{Matzav.com}

UPDATE: A Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet carrying eight people crashed during takeoff from Bangor, Maine, Sunday evening, though the extent of any injuries is currently unknown. Emergency crews responded to the incident around 7:45 p.m. ET, and the airport remains closed. The crash comes amid a major snowstorm sweeping through the Northeast, with subfreezing […]

A chareidi IDF soldier wounded in combat delivered a searing rebuke during a stormy session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, accusing state authorities of completely erasing religious and chareidi wounded soldiers from the public and legislative conversation even as efforts intensify to draft more chareidim.

Eliyahu Pinchas Tzemach, a representative of the Metzuyanim B’Yisrael organization , which advocates for religious and chareidi IDF wounded, addressed the committee during deliberations on the draft law. Speaking with visible anguish, Tzemach described what he called the total disappearance of chareidi wounded soldiers from policy discussions.

“I hear debates, I see headlines, I follow this law from every angle, but there is one thing I have not heard even once: wounded soldiers,” he told lawmakers. “Not in the law, not in the discussions, not even in a single sentence. As if they do not exist.”

Tzemach pointed to what he described as a glaring and painful contradiction: the state tracks the lives of chareidi youth in minute detail, yet refuses to acknowledge them once they are injured in military service.

“The state knows exactly where every chareidi boy studied at age 14, which institution he transferred to at 15, what he eats, what level of kashrus he keeps, but when that same boy enlists, is wounded, and broken, the state is not even willing to know how many there are,” he said.

“Even to count us, they are not willing,” Tzemach added. “Forget rehabilitation, forget treatment … even the basic recognition that we exist is already too much for the system.”

According to Tzemach, this is not a bureaucratic oversight but a deep systemic failure with devastating consequences. Wounded soldiers are left without answers, families collapse under the strain, and there is no rehabilitation framework tailored to the needs of the chareidi public.

He described realities on the ground that, he said, are never voiced in the Knesset: mixed-gender therapy groups that chareidi patients cannot join; Beit HaLochem facilities with no accommodations for Torah-observant soldiers; rehabilitation gyms, activities, and overseas delegations that are entirely mixed; and the complete absence of transitional housing or structured rehabilitation tracks for chareidi wounded and their families.

“There is no rehabilitation. There simply is none,” he said. “And then they come and demand more enlistment, more targets, more numbers — without stopping for a moment to ask: what will be with those who were already wounded? And what will be with those who enlist now and will be wounded?”

Tzemach posed a direct challenge to lawmakers: “How can you demand more enlistment from the chareidi public when those who already carried the burden and were wounded have been completely erased from the discourse?”

Speaking afterward, he said that the focus on quotas and targets is fundamentally misplaced.

“Before talking about numbers, targets, and enlistment quotas, there must be a conversation about rehabilitation,” he said. “About responsibility. And about the future of chareidi wounded soldiers who have paid — and unfortunately will yet pay — a very heavy price.”

{Matzav.com}

Former President Barack Hussein Obama issued a rare and forceful public rebuke of President Donald Trump on Sunday, directly blaming the current administration for the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and warning that the situation surrounding federal immigration enforcement is spiraling dangerously.

“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Obama said in a statement posted on X. “It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”

In his statement, Obama sharply criticized the conduct of federal immigration agents operating in U.S. cities, saying their tactics have sparked justified outrage nationwide. “People across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, and provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” he wrote.

Obama’s comments came one day after Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents during a confrontation on a Minneapolis street.

According to authorities, Pretti was carrying a loaded firearm when he stepped between federal agents and a woman they were pepper-spraying. Agents attempted to arrest him, removed the gun from his belt, and then fired roughly 10 shots, killing him at the scene.

While acknowledging that immigration enforcement is inherently challenging, Obama said the Trump administration bears responsibility for fostering an environment in which deadly force is used recklessly.

“The President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanation for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation – and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” Obama wrote.

The statement marked Obama’s first public comments on the unrest in Minneapolis, which erupted earlier this month after ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good. Authorities said Good had attempted to block immigration officers with her vehicle and nearly struck an agent, who then opened fire, killing her.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: A small passenger plane has reportedly crashed at Bangor International Airport in Maine.

The IDF said Sunday night that troops have launched an ongoing operation in northern Gaza to locate the remains of Ran Gvili hy”d, the last remaining Israeli hostage in Gaza. According to the military, a series of clandestine operations carried out over the weekend significantly narrowed the possible burial location, prompting commanders to authorize a […]

The storm has already given us one of our biggest snow event’s in years. Just before 8:30PM, Central Park recorded 10.6 inches, surpassing the 8.5 inches recorded five years ago. This storm is in league with the five biggest storms of the past several years La Guardia Airport: 10 inches JFK Airport: 9 inches Newark […]

The winter storm has triggered the highest number of US flight cancellations since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. As of 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, airlines had canceled 8,906 of 23,735 scheduled US departures, making it the worst single day for cancellations since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Cirium […]

A sweeping mobilization of U.S. naval and air forces is moving into position across the Middle East, raising the prospects of a direct military confrontation with Iran as officials and analysts note that multiple escalation “tripwires” are now in play. While the White House is publicly calling the buildup a “deterrent,” the scale, speed, and […]

Dozens of demonstrators identified with extremist factions blocked Route 10 at the entrance to Beit Shemesh on Sunday evening, protesting the draft law and the arrest of yeshiva students accused of draft evasion.

The protest reached a dramatic peak when demonstrators placed a chilling display in the middle of the roadway, featuring mock coffins meant to symbolize their opposition to the policy.

The coffins bore the names of Yosef Eisenthal z”l and Naftali Tzvi Kramer z”l, two bochurim who were tragically killed during protest-related incidents in recent weeks.

Police forces arrived at the scene and worked to clear the road, which was blocked for a short period of time.

The closure caused heavy traffic congestion at both the entrance to and exit from the city before traffic was eventually restored.

{Matzav.com}

MI K’AMCHA YISROEL: When Delta Flight 235 from Tel Aviv to JFK was unexpectedly diverted to Minneapolis with more than 300 Jewish passengers on board, Chabad leapt into action, transforming an unplanned stop into a powerful display of chesed—preparing fresh, hot meals and welcoming the stranded travelers with warmth, smiles, and a taste of home […]

A new mural unveiled in a central Tehran square on Sunday contains a direct warning by Iran to the United States to not attempt a military strike on the country

In recent days, a new, dramatic, highly sensitive security affair has been under investigation within Israel’s defense system, one that is expected to cast a heavy shadow on top security officials and shake the system, Israeli media outlets reported on Motzei Shabbos. Most details remain under a strict gag order. However, based on the limited […]

Come together for a meaningful conversation and emotional support, as we discuss the conflict in Iran and our concerns for loved ones living there.Event DetailsMonday, January 26, 20268:30pmPanelistsRabbi Eliyahu HakakianRabbi Eliyahu Hakakian is a leading figure in the Baltimore Jewish community, serving as the Rav of Congregation Ahavat Shalom, a center for Sephardic and Iranian […]

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei personally ordered the country’s top security body to crush nationwide protests using “any means necessary,” including lethal force, according to a report published Sunday by The New York Times citing two officials familiar with the matter. The order, delivered to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Jan. 9, was […]

President Donald Trump on Sunday pressed Democratic governors and mayors across the country to work with federal immigration officials, arguing that resistance to cooperation has produced “dangerous circumstances” and resulted in the deaths of two American citizens.

In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump laid out four steps he said Democratic officials must take to support his administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.

First, Trump said state and local authorities should hand over all criminal illegal migrants currently in state prisons or local jails — as well as those with outstanding warrants or known criminal records — to federal officials for immediate deportation.

Second, he called on local police departments to transfer custody of all illegal migrants they arrest directly to federal immigration authorities.

Third, Trump said local law enforcement agencies should be required to assist federal officials in locating, apprehending, and detaining illegal migrants wanted for crimes.

Fourth, he urged Democratic jurisdictions to actively partner with the federal government to quickly remove criminal illegal migrants, pointing to cities such as Memphis and Washington, D.C., which he said have cooperated with federal authorities and experienced improvements in public safety.

Trump singled out Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing them of refusing to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and of encouraging resistance to federal enforcement actions.

The president argued that Republican-led states have shown that close coordination between local and federal authorities can lead to effective enforcement without public disorder. He said that Texas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Louisiana saw more than 150,000 criminal illegal migrants arrested by ICE over the past year without protests or riots, crediting cooperation between law enforcement agencies for the outcome.

Trump contrasted that with what he described as obstruction by Democrat-run “sanctuary cities and states,” accusing them of placing the interests of illegal immigrants ahead of law-abiding citizens and creating unsafe, volatile conditions for both officers and the public.

He also called on Congress to pass legislation banning sanctuary city policies nationwide, describing those policies as “the root cause” of the current problems. Trump said American cities should be “safe sanctuaries for law-abiding American citizens only.”

The remarks come as immigration enforcement continues to dominate national political debate, with Republicans and Democrats sharply divided over public safety, local cooperation with federal authorities, and the role of state and municipal governments in enforcing immigration law.

{Matzav.com}

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sharply criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney over a new agreement with China on electric vehicles, cautioning that Canada could face steep penalties if it enables Beijing to flood the U.S. market with low-priced goods.

President Donald Trump initially played down the agreement, telling reporters, “If you can get a deal with China, he should do that.” A day later, however, Trump escalated the response, warning that Canada could be hit with 100% tariffs.

“There’s a possibility of a hundred percent tariffs if they do a free trade deal, if they go further — if we see that the Canadians are allowing the Chinese to dump goods.,” Bessent said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.”

Bessent noted that Canada had previously aligned with Washington on trade enforcement against Beijing. “The Canadians, a few months ago, joined the U.S. in putting high steel tariffs on China because the Chinese are dumping,” he said. “The Europeans also have done the same thing. And it looks like Prime Minister Carney may have done some kind of about-face.”

Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, mirroring U.S. policy. Under the new arrangement, however, China will be permitted to sell up to 49,000 EVs in Canada at a 6.1% most-favored-nation tariff rate, as part of a broader agreement between Ottawa and Beijing aimed at expanding cooperation on green energy.

Carney’s shift toward China has been widely interpreted as a signal of resistance to Trump, who last year slapped broad tariffs on Canada over alleged drug trafficking and border security issues.

“I don’t think he’s doing the best job for the Canadian people,” Bessent said of Carney.

Trump has previously joked about annexing Canada, and his aggressive trade posture reportedly led then–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to break down in tears in public.

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Carney told global leaders that the international system had fundamentally shifted amid Trump’s threats to assert control over Greenland.

“We know the old order is not coming back,” Carney said. “We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.”

“This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and most to gain from genuine cooperation.”

On Sunday, Trump renewed his attacks on Canada, accusing the country of “systematically destroying itself” and striking “one of the worst deals, of any kind, in history.”

“China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!”

{Matzav.com}