New York Times won’t release off-the-record tape of Trump

by Rebecca Savransky - 02/29/16 4:46 PM ET

The New York Times is refusing to release an audio recording from an off-the-record meeting with Donald Trump where some speculate the front-runner talked about immigration.

The audio recording may include audio of Trump that raises questions about whether he plans to follow through on his promises regarding immigration, Buzzfeed News reported Monday.

{mosads}The meeting at The New York Times took place on Jan. 5 and was partially conducted off-the-record. The meetings are conducted ahead of the newspaper endorsing a candidate.

A columnist at the newspaper wrote about Trump’s immigration plans. People familiar with the off-the-record interview suggested that what the columnist wrote reflects something Trump said to them.

“The most optimistic analysis of Trump as a presidential candidate is that he just doesn’t believe in positions, except the ones you adopt for strategic purposes when you’re making a deal. So you obviously can’t explain how you’re going to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, because it’s going to be the first bid in some future monster negotiation session,” columnist Gail Collins wrote.

The editorial page editor of the Times declined to comment about the off-the-record portion of the interview to Buzzfeed News. He said if Trump wants the recording released, he can ask the paper and it will then make a decision.

Sen. Ted Cruz called on Trump on Monday to allow the paper to release the recording. He tweeted a video himself and asked Trump to tell the paper to “#ReleaseTheTape.”

I call on @realDonaldTrump to ask the New York Times to #ReleaseTheTape: https://t.co/ZiSq8hgq7D https://t.co/DEcZoYP42P

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 29, 2016

“A very disturbing story that broke today,” Cruz said in a video he posted to Twitter.

He said the New York Times has a “secret tape” of Trump saying that “he doesn’t believe what he’s saying on immigration.”

“That all of his promises to secure the borders are not real and if he’s president he doesn’t intend to do what he says,” Cruz said.

“The New York Times apparently has this on tape.”

Cruz said if Trump didn’t say that to the newspaper, then he deserves to have the situation “cleared up.” But if it’s true, voters need to know, he said.

“The voters deserve to know if he says something different when he’s talking to The New York Times then he does when he’s talking to the voters,” Cruz said. “And we deserve to know before Super Tuesday.”

Sen. Marco Rubio also called on Trump to ask the paper to release the interview. Rubio said in a news release that Trump has made his “famous issue” his plans to build a wall and be “tough on Mexico.”

“Donald Trump should ask The New York Times to release the audio of his interview with him so we can see exactly what it is he truly believes about this issue that he has made the cornerstone of his campaign,” Rubio said in a news release.

Updated 5:33 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Donald Trump Immigration Marco Rubio New York Times Ted Cruz