Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was caught on video arguing with a law enforcement officer after berating Montana airport workers.
The video, which was posted to Reddit, shows a visibly agitated Cruz, having missed his check-in window for his flight, speaking with two representatives at the United Airlines check-in desk at Bozeman International Airport before law enforcement had to step in.
You can watch what happened in the video below.
Airport police are called to deal with Ted Cruz after he caused a ruckus at the Bozeman Montana airport when he missed the check-in window for his flight. A witness says he actually said, \u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d. No word yet on whether he was headed to Cancun.pic.twitter.com/43jBIVDR6N— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1647881755
According to Scott Humphrey, a deputy director of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, Cruz was angry because he had missed the check-in window for his flight.
Speaking toThe Daily Mail, Humphrey noted that Cruz did eventually make it onto another flight and that re-booking the flight proved complicated because of the high demand spring break period:
"One of our Public Safety Officers (PSO) was in the ticket lobby and was asked to assist with a frustrated passenger at the United ticket counter (which is not unusual). The passenger had missed the check-in window for his flight and re-booking options were limited out of Bozeman due to Spring Break."
"Once travel options were explained to the passenger, he was rebooked and departed Bozeman later that evening. Our PSO didn't realize he was dealing with Senator Cruz until after the fact."
The incident generated unsavory headlines for Cruz and many took to social media to mock him for exhibiting entitled behavior. Others, meanwhile, brought up his infamous ill-timed trip to Cancún last year.
Wow. Did Teddy have a tizzy?https://twitter.com/mikesington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— Hey, Dave! (@Hey, Dave!) 1647905614
Canada gave us Ryan Reynolds but also this guy. Not sure what point I\u2019m making, but thanks for Ryan at leasthttps://twitter.com/mikesington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udd4a\ud835\udd4b\ud835\udd3c\u2119\u210d\ud835\udd3c\u2115 (@\ud835\udd4a\ud835\udd4b\ud835\udd3c\u2119\u210d\ud835\udd3c\u2115) 1647895055
Oh @tedcruz you are not special, you dopehttps://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— Pedal Pusher (@Pedal Pusher) 1647897537
Well there are tornados in Texas so Ted Cruz is definitely headed to Cancun.https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— HoosierHippie (@HoosierHippie) 1647904494
#CancunCruz at it againhttps://twitter.com/mikesington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— Brenda Anderson (@Brenda Anderson) 1647904676
I thought America was founded on preventing the "Do you know who I am?" types from getting any type of power.https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— c0aster \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@c0aster \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647907408
"Do you know who I am?" is the mating call of some pretty freaky swamp animals.https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— Michael Sheldon (@Michael Sheldon) 1647907432
May I have your attention in the terminal, please. There is a man at the United Airlines ticket counter who does not know who he is.https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— daveharrison \u2601\ufe0f (@daveharrison \u2601\ufe0f) 1647901147
Of course, we know who you are! You\u2019re #CancunCruz !https://twitter.com/mikesington/status/1505951350554697733\u00a0\u2026— KAsnowflake#StandWithUkraine (@KAsnowflake#StandWithUkraine) 1647901972
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.
