Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday said Orlando, the location of the Conservative Political Action Conference, was “not as nice as Cancun” after he drew backlash for a trip to Mexico during rampant power outages in the Lone Star State.
Cruz faced criticism earlier in February after he traveled to Cancun, Mexico, with his wife, Heidi, and his two daughters while his home state battled a slew of power outages following uncharacteristic frigid temperatures and storms. At the peak of the crisis, nearly 3.8 million residences were without electricity, and the senator faced accusations of abandoning his constituents during the hardship.
“God bless CPAC,” he said, “I got to say, Orlando is awesome. It’s not as nice as Cancun, but it’s nice.”
“I gotta say, Orlando is awesome. It’s not as nice as Cancun…” says Ted Cruz, joking about that time he abandoned his state so that he could stay at the Ritz Carlton while a number of Texans froze to death.pic.twitter.com/KNvTSVGiEk
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) February 26, 2021
“This has been an infuriating week for Texans,” Cruz said of the trip in a statement. “The greatest state in the greatest country in the world has been without power. We have food lines, gas lines, and people sleeping at the neighbors’ houses. Our homes are freezing and our lights are out. Like millions of Texans, our family lost heat and power too.”
FLYIN’ TED: CRUZ SAID HE FLEW TO CANCUN DURING WEATHER CRISIS TO BE A ‘GOOD DAD’
He continued: “With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas. We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm. My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe.”
Public figures condemned Cruz after photos circulated of the Republican in a Houston airport with a packed bag, and the Texas Democratic Party called on the senator to resign.
“Ted Cruz had already proven to be an enemy to our democracy by inciting an insurrection,” it wrote in a statement. “Now, he is proving to be an enemy to our state by abandoning us in our greatest time of need. For the 21st time, the Texas Democratic Party calls on Ted Cruz to resign or be expelled from office. Barring that, we will put all of the resources we have into defeating him and every Texas Republican who abandoned us in this disaster, including Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Patrick, in 2022 and 2024. We are in a battle for the soul of our state. We must restore ethics, competence, and a government that works for the people.”
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Cruz blamed the media frenzy on “acute Trump withdrawal.”
“I will say, to venture into practicing medicine, that I actually want to diagnose the media. The media is suffering from acute Trump withdrawal, where for four years every day, they could foam at the mouth and be obsessed with Donald Trump, and now that he has receded from their day-to-day storyline, they don’t know what to do with themselves,” he said during an interview with conservative radio host Dana Loesch.
