Social media is abuzz with outrage for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) after a series of images showed him boarding a plane heading to Cancun, Mexico, while his home state dealt with a historic cold snap that has left millions without access to power and heat in record-low temperatures, but the outspoken senator said Thursday afternoon he planned the trip because he was just “wanting to be a good dad.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting prior to the … [+]
Key Facts
Cruz said he flew down with his daughters to Cancun, Mexico after they asked to take a trip with their friends because school had been canceled for the week.
The social media firestorm was set off late Wednesday night when former MSNBC anchor David Schuster tweeted an image that he claimed showed Cruz jet-setting with his family to a resort in Cancun, which has a forecast high of 85 degrees Thursday.
Houston police said Thursday Cruz’s staff requested assistance and officers “monitored” Cruz’s movements through the airport while much of the city was shut down.
Schuster’s post set off a massive wave of criticism, as Cruz’s home state shivers in the deep freeze, with no power and diminishing supplies of food and potable water, making Cruz the top trending Twitter topic on Thursday.
Cruz said he plans to fly home Thursday afternoon.
Crucial Quote
“With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends,” Cruz said. “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”
Surprising Fact
On Monday, Cruz said that his Houston home didn’t lose power, unlike vast swaths of the state, though he said in his Thursday statement that he did end up losing power and heat. Rolling blackouts at times meant more than 35% of Texans went without electricity—and many of those without any source of heat. “Our house was lucky,” Cruz said.
Chief Critic
Cruz was widely lambasted for the photos, but a few came to his defense. Conservative commentator Erick Erickson noted that, as a U.S. senator, Cruz doesn’t have direct authority over the state’s electrical grid, which was strained by power sources freezing and leading to widespread blackouts.
Key Background
Texas was devastated by a massive winter storm earlier this week that froze power sources—mostly coal and natural gas generators—putting extreme strain on the state’s electrical grid, resulting in widespread blackouts in order to preserve the remaining electrical supply. That at times left millions without power during a cold snap that broke century-old record lows, and also without access to heat since most in the region use electricity as a primary heating source.