Ted Cruz excoriated worldwide after family trip to Cancun amid Texas storm crisis

Stefan Stevenson
·5 min read

Sen. Ted Cruz is no stranger to social media tussles.

But the one currently swirling around the Texas politician might be even too much for him.

People from all over the world, including celebrities, politicians and one Texas Rangers legend are excoriating the Houston-based U.S. Senator after his family trip to Cancun on Wednesday night broke on the internet.

Much of Texas is in the middle of an unprecedented snow and ice storm that has caused power outages for millions across the state. Hundreds of thousands of residents in Austin, Houston, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area have been without power for days and many have also been without water or forced to boil their water.

Cruz released a statement Thursday after the backlash built online and news organizations started corroborating the online reports. Cruz said in his statement that he was trying to be a good father by chaperoning his 10- and 12-year-old daughters to Cancun since school has been canceled.

“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,” Cruz said in the statement. In an interview with Telemundo at the Cancun airport, Cruz suggested that his daughters asked him and his wife, Heidi, to go on the trip only hours before the family left for the airport, according to the Washington Post.

But it appears Cruz was packed for a longer trip and NBC News is reporting that Cruz was originally booked to return to Houston on Saturday. In the wake of the backlash, however, Cruz returned to Texas on Thursday afternoon. NBC News reports that Cruz altered his trip at 6 a.m. Thursday.

Rangers legend Michael Young was among many who mocked Cruz’s message on Twitter.

“With school canceled for the week, my boys wanted to take a trip with friends,” Young posted on Twitter. “Wanting to be a good dad, I asked how those friends families would allow such a thing, how it’s completely tone deaf, and explained that’s it’s a terrible idea.”