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Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, attempted to warn his constituents to prepare for a major winter storm that is producing snowfall, rain and sleet across wide swaths of the Midwest and Southwest only for his efforts to backfire instantly.
Cruz's recommendation that Texans prepare for the storm by stocking such items as warm clothes, blankets, extra batteries, a first-aid kit, and non-perishable food rang hollow, his critics said, reminding him that he is still widely perceived as having abandoned Texans when he went on vacation during a severe winter storm one year ago.
The Senator nonetheless issued these recommendations with no sense of irony whatsoever.
It is better to be over prepared than underprepared for winter weather.\n \nThings to have on hand as the winter weather approaches:\n \n Extra warm clothes & blankets\n Portable lights and extra batteries\n First-aid kit\n Extra nonperishable food and water for family and pets— Senator Ted Cruz (@Senator Ted Cruz) 1643766702
Cruz dealt with considerable national backlash after he flew to Cancún while millions of people went without food and water as a result of the February 2021 Texas power disaster. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly; some estimates suggested that as many as 702 people were killed as a result of the crisis.
Notably, Cruz ultimately refused to take responsibility for his actions.
In an interview shortly after the controversy erupted with conservative radio host Dana Loesch, Cruz blamed criticism on "Trump withdrawal," implying that any and all criticism of his behavior amounted to little more than political histrionics because of former President Donald Trump's absence from the news cycle.
Cruz suggested that Trump "broke the media," accusing media outlets of merely wanting "to engage in political attacks." He claimed he went to Cancún to accompany his daughters, an apology that did not sit well with his critics either.
He insisted that his only faux pas had been simply "wanting to be a good dad," claiming that he'd only accompanied them for a single night before flying back to Texas. However, Cruz’s social media accounts had not acknowledged any official travel.
Cruz's critics were out in full force in the wake of his message and accused him of hyocrisy.
picture of trump to pray to\n\nsunblock\n\nFirst class ticket-Cancun\n\ndog eared copy of Mein Kampfhttps://twitter.com/sentedcruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— Chris Meloni (@Chris Meloni) 1643910374
Didn\u2019t you leave off \u2018tickets to Cancun?\u2019https://twitter.com/sentedcruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— Joe Eisma (@Joe Eisma) 1643820086
A year ago, this guy flew to Cancun last time the power went out.\nSix months ago, he voted against an infrastructure bill that passed with bipartisan support.\n#TedCruzIsOffensiveAndInsultinghttps://twitter.com/sentedcruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— Debunktion Junction (@Debunktion Junction) 1643854659
Don\u2019t listen to this shithead about winter weather, family or pets. \n\nInstead of taking up for his wife or daddy he dropped to all fours to suck an orange shit gibbon, and while Texans froze he left his dog at home alone to go to Cancun and then blamed that on his kids.https://twitter.com/sentedcruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— Shannon - life in the vaxxed lane! (@Shannon - life in the vaxxed lane!) 1643860978
You don\u2019t get to speak on this subject. https://twitter.com/sentedcruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— Corey Dean Stone \ud83d\udcf8 (@Corey Dean Stone \ud83d\udcf8) 1643891172
Have you booked your flight to Cancun yet?https://twitter.com/sentedcruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— REDDOG\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\ude37 (@REDDOG\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\ude37) 1643893470
You forgot a bullet point. \n\n- A functional electrical gridhttps://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— \u269c\ufe0f Rin (they/he) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\u269c\ufe0f (@\u269c\ufe0f Rin (they/he) \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\u269c\ufe0f) 1643897782
Hilarious joke about the time 250 Texans died because of gross incompetence as similar conditions are headed for the state. Super funny stuff.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1488887563830104071\u00a0\u2026— Farron Cousins (@Farron Cousins) 1643826869
Or how about:\n A governor delivering a working electric grid \n A senator who won\u2019t run away to Cancun while his constituents freezehttps://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1488691566361329666\u00a0\u2026— Tristan Snell (@Tristan Snell) 1643852872
Although Cruz has continued to claim that the idea to go on the trip came from his daughters, his claim has not held up under scrutiny.
The New York Times later published text messages obtained from the inner circle of Cruz and his wife Heidi. They showed that Heidi Cruz messaged her friends to tell them that the Cruz home was “FREEZING” and that the family would be staying with friends to ride out the disaster.
When she asked if anyone wanted to head to Cancún for a week, no one answered.
Cruz later said that his wife was “pissed” about the leaked text messages, adding that those who handed their private communications to reporters should learn to "treat each other as human beings" and "have some degree, some modicum of respect.”