Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called on Donald Trump to grant The New York Times permission to release the audio of the off-the-record portion of a recent interview.
A BuzzFeed report alleges the Times is closely guarding audio of an interview that includes Trump claiming he would not follow through on the immigration rhetoric that he has espoused on the campaign trail.
“I will say there was a very disturbing story that broke today that apparently there is a secret tape that The New York Times editorial board has of Donald Trump saying that he doesn’t believe what he’s saying on immigration, that all of his promises to secure the border are not real and if he’s president, he doesn’t intend to do what he said,” Cruz told reporters before a rally in Texas. “Now that’s been reported, The New York Times apparently has this on tape, but it was an off-the-record tape so The New York Times has said they will not release the tape unless Donald gives them permission to do so. I call on Donald to ask The New York Times to release the tape and do so today before the Super Tuesday primary.”
Cruz added that he thinks “the voters deserve to know if he [Trump] says something different to The New York Times than he does when he’s talking to the voters.”
Trump’s views on illegal immigration appear to have changed dramatically in recent months, as the purported immigration hawk formerly supported a much softer stance.
