Cruz, Rubio and Romney demand Trump, NYT release off-the-record interview on immigration

Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Valdosta State University in Georgia on Monday. (Photo: Philip Sears/Reuters)

Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney are calling for Donald Trump and the New York Times to release an off-the-record interview the newspaper conducted with the Republican frontrunner on immigration.

According to BuzzFeed, Trump “revealed a degree of flexibility in his otherwise hardline stance on immigration” in the Jan. 5 interview.

“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, saying 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 in San Antonio on Monday. “I call on Donald: Ask the New York Times to release the tape and do so today before the Super Tuesday primary.”

Rubio joined the Texas senator in demanding that Trump and the paper release the contents of the interview.

“It sounds like what he told [the New York Times] is different from what he is telling you,” Rubio told supporters at a rally in Conway, Ark., Monday. “Donald Trump should ask the New York Times to release the audio of his interview with them so we can see exactly what it is he truly believes about this issue which he has made the cornerstone of his campaign.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has been highly critical of Trump in recent days, agreed.

“Another #bombshell?” Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, tweeted. “Trump should authorize the @nytimes to release the transcript of his ed board interview. #WhatIsHeHiding.”

Meanwhile, Romney’s 2012 running mate, House Speaker Paul Ryan, joined the chorus of Republicans condemning Trump’s hesitation on Sunday to disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, who told listeners of his radio show that voting against Trump would be “treason to your heritage.”

“If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there must be no evasion and no games,” Ryan said Tuesday. “They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry.”

Paul Ryan speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

“This party does not prey on people’s prejudices,” Ryan continued. “We appeal to their highest ideals. This is the party of Lincoln. We believe all people are created equal in the eyes of God and our government. This is fundamental. And if someone wants to be our nominee, they must understand this.”

In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Trump refused to disavow Duke and the white supremacist groups that have expressed support for his candidacy, saying he needed to research who they were.

“I have to look at the group. I mean, I don’t know what group you’re talking about,” Trump said. “You wouldn’t want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I’d have to look.”

On Monday, Trump blamed “a very bad earpiece” for his hesitation.

“I could hardly hear what [Tapper] was saying,” Trump said on NBC’s “Today.”

The Republican frontrunner said he thought he was being asked to disavow “various groups” and insisted he couldn’t hear Tapper’s clarification that he was talking about Duke and the KKK.

“I have no problem disavowing groups, but I’d at least like to know who they are,” Trump said on “Today.” “It would be very unfair to disavow a group if the group shouldn’t be disavowed. I have to know who the groups are.”

Rubio said Trump’s refusal to repudiate the KKK makes him “unelectable.”

“We cannot be a party that nominates someone who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan,” the Florida senator said at a rally in Virginia Sunday. “Not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable. How are we going to grow our party with a nominee that refuses to condemn the Ku Klux Klan? Don’t tell me he doesn’t know who the Ku Klux Klan is. This is serious.”