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When Steve Adler, mayor of Austin, was caught imploring residents to stay at home to stop the spread of COVID-19 while at his holiday home in Cabo, Mexico back in December, Senator Ted Cruz tweeted, "Complete and utter hypocrites."
But Cruz has now been caught doing the exact same thing after being caught hopping on a flight to Cancun, Mexico, just days after telling Texans to stay home during a storm that has left millions of Texans without heat, hot water, or power.
Cruz was pictured on a flight to the resort city Thursday while millions in his state have no power, and adults and children have died trying to keep warm.
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Politicians across the country have tried to blame everything – from being weak to “socialism” – for the storm’s effects. Governor Greg Abbott even went on Fox News Tuesday to point the finger at renewable energy, even though Texas's power grid is overwhelmingly run on gas and oil.
Twitter users have unearthed many of Cruz's previous hypocritical statements – of the lawmaker making fun of California during its own extreme weather event during last year's wildfires, claiming it was “unable to perform even basic functions of civilization like having reliable electricity."
When reminded of this comment, he simply tweeted: “I got no defense. A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good.”
CNN reporting Ted Cruz is booked on a flight back to Houston later today. Honestly, Mexico can keep him!
— Amy Siskind ��️�� (@Amy_Siskind) February 18, 2021
While some defended Cruz's trip by saying there was nothing the senator could personally do to fix the failed grid, others criticized him, saying that hundreds of local charities, food pantries, and mutual aid groups have emerged up to support Texans at this time – while Cruz went on vacation.
Cruz also drew received backlash from Beto O’Rourke, who has spent the last few days connecting residents to local resources and calling senior citizens to make sure they are warm.
“[Cruz] is vacationing in Cancun right now when people are literally freezing to death in the state that he was elected to represent and serve,” the former congressman and presidential hopeful said on MSNBC Thursday.
While Cruz said he plans to head back to Texas on Thursday afternoon, not everyone in the state wants him back.
Calls for the senator to resign, as well as to be blocked from re-entering the country, have abounded on social media. “Mexico can keep him!” activist Amy Siskind joked.
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