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Sen. Ted Cruz Says Cancun Trip Was A Mistake
Hours after returning to Texas following backlash over a family vacation, Senator Ted Cruz said that their Cancun trip was a mistake. He said that “in hindsight, I wouldn't have done it,” knowing full well that his home state is experiencing a severe winter storm.
RELATED: Ted Cruz Travels to Cancun, Mexico as Millions Deal with Historic Winter Storm
Second Thoughts On The Plane
The Republican senator faced reporters as he came home to his Houston home Thursday evening. He received heavy criticism for leaving the state while fellow Texans endured freezing temperatures without electricity and heat. “I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane because, on the one hand, all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our family. That's something Texans have been doing across the state,” said Cruz. He earlier explained that he flew to Mexico because his daughters asked for the trip and he was trying to be a good father.
“But I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously for the state of Texas and frankly, leaving when so many Texans were hurting didn't feel right and so I changed my return flight and flew back on the first available flight I could take,” he added.
Cruz Said He Understands the Anger
Despite admitting that the Cancun trip was a mistake, Cruz said he understands the anger many Texans feel. “Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we're in a strange time where Twitter's been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there's a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides,” Cruz said.
The senator asked that everyone should treat each other with respect and decency, especially during a time of crisis. He confirmed that his daughters “asked to take a trip with friends” so he flew down. Witnesses reported seeing Cruz boarding a flight Wednesday at Houston IAH airport bound for Cancun, Mexico. He claimed he flew down last night and returned the next afternoon.
He assured everybody that he remained in touch with his staff. “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,” he said in an earlier statement.
Not Just For A Night
However, texts sent by Cruz’s wife Heidi showed a different plan. She asked friends earlier if “Anyone can or want to leave for the week?” the Times reported Thursday. She also said that they might go to Cancun via direct flight. In addition, she said their house was freezing, and suggested they stay in Cancun until Sunday, and mentioned they stayed at the Cancun Ritz-Carlton in previous vacations.
Cruz insisted he only planned for an overnight trip. Even his staff didn’t know he flew to Mexico until pictures of Cruz in the airport appeared on social media. Texas State Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat from southwest Houston, tweeted Cruz’s photo. He said that Cruz was flying south “while the state was freezing to death and having to boil water.” Meanwhile, the senator remained quiet on social media Thursday.
Stay Home
Prior to his trip and in a radio interview Monday, Cruz told people to “stay home” and not take the risk. “Keep your family safe and just stay home and hug your kids,” he added. As a senator, Crus is an elected official that does not have responsibilities on the ground. However, constituents usually reach out to elected officials for assistance during disasters.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) received much of the blame for the lack of electricity. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said they will initiate an investigation of ERCOT next week.
Loading ...Do you agree with Senator Ted Cruz in saying his Cancun trip was a mistake while his home state is in a state of emergency? Or, do you think it shouldn’t be a problem, given he has a family to take care of. Let us know what you think about the Senator by sharing your comments below.
5 Comments
Society and media need to get off the BLAME GAME TRAIN. Understand these are unprecedented events. Media should be advocating – We will learn from these things and prepare best we can as humans.
Do people BLAME politicians and utility companies when a tornado or hurricane or forest fires wipe out homes, electric, supplies, homes and people??? This all got terribly bad when President Trump took office. Blaming him, his actions and everyone associated with him for every little thing!! It’s just ridiculous! I pray we all come back to some common sense. Should we blame Biden and the dems for the blizzard??? Maybe it’s all the liberal policies and ideas on global impact that caused this!?? Maybe it’s God’s way of showing us we do still need our natural resources. Maybe it’s God’s way of showing His anger over liberalism attacks endured since Obama. LOL.
Idk but maybe we just pull up our big boy and girl panties, stop whining and persevere!!
Man, if I could have left, I would have and so would you! Don’t think for a moment that you’re taking some invisible high road by acting like you would have done different!
Ted, Ted, Ted… hoo boy, what to say. At least you weren’t off galavanting after vociferously demanding lockdowns and shutdowns. Love ya, man, but prolly shouldn’t have told that other fella to “stay home” (per article, truth of it not known). It’s all optics, sir, as you know. And we both know that in these hateful times there’s no way for you to be “right”. We’re praying for you and the family, and for your good work, sir
If CONgress had been in session – they are on one of their normal hiatuses aren’t they – Sen Cruz would have been in dee cee when this disaster hit. IOW he would STILL have not been in Texas. But that wouldn’t have stopped the lame stream media from going after him now would it.
Does anyone know when he had this family excursion planned, likely well ahead of time. It is just his bad luck how the timing worked out so everyone that is criticizing him needs to back off. Period.
I agree that he wanted to take care of his family as a father should. But maybe if he had let his wife and children go by themselves and he stayed behind to help as much as he could for the rest of the state. But then again the Democrats probably would have criticized him for doing that too. But if one of them had wanted to go to Cancun, probably nothing would have been said. It seems Senator Cruz was between a rock and a hard place. At least he did admit he made a mistake and owning up to it. Stay strong and safe everyone. We’re praying for you all.