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

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.

I call on @realDonaldTrump to ask the New York Times to #ReleaseTheTape: https://t.co/ZiSq8hgq7Dhttps://t.co/DEcZoYP42P

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 29, 2016