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CANCUN, Mexico: US Senator Ted Cruz was plunged into a storm of criticism Thursday (February 18) after leaving his home state of Texas in the grip of a deadly freeze for a family vacation outing to the Mexican resort of Cancun. He said he took to please his young daughters.
“Wanting to be a good father, I flew with them last night and will be back this afternoon,” Cruz said after The Associated Press and other media reported details of the trip.
“Obviously it was a mistake. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it,” the 50-year-old Republican told reporters as he returned to Houston. Cruz said he had planned to stay for the weekend, but thought better of it “almost the moment I sat on the plane.”
“My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas,” Cruz said. “We want to recover our energy, our water on and our homes warm.”
In text messages obtained by American Bridge, a Democratic political group, Cruz’s wife, Heidi, asked neighbors if they wanted to accompany the family to Cancun.
“Can anyone or wants to leave this week?” she wrote, noting that rooms at the city’s Ritz Carlton cost “$ 309 plus tax.”
With millions of Texans dealing with the aftermath of a fierce winter storm, Cruz, considered a presidential candidate in 2024, faced condemnation after photos on social media showed him in line at the airport, in a passenger lounge, a aboard a plane and departing from Cancun International. Mexico airport.
Some critics criticized his comments, blaming his daughters, ages 10 and 12, for his decision to visit the resort, where the weather was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) on Thursday night. The Texas Democratic Party asked him to resign.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, speaking before Cruz was seen at the Cancun airport, said wryly: “I have no updates on the exact location of Senator Ted Cruz, nor anyone in the White House.”
Millions of Texans remained paralyzed by power and water outages after a winter storm and freezing temperatures that hampered efforts to restore full power.
READ: Freezing temperatures, power outages lead to flooding from water problems
Some 2.7 million Texas homes were without heat on Wednesday and leaders warned of a ripple effect on infrastructure as a lack of power cut off water supplies, tested the ability of hospitals to treat patients. COVID-19 patients and isolated vulnerable communities isolated by frozen roads.
“We need to be here, we need to be in the battle, we have to help Texans,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told MSNBC when asked about Cruz.
Cruz, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2016, won re-election to the Senate in 2018 by winning over Democrat Beto O’Rourke by less than three percentage points. He will not run again until 2024.
In December, Cruz criticized Austin, Texas Mayor Stephen Adler on Twitter for taking a trip to Mexico in December while telling others not to travel during the pandemic.
