Ted Cruz mocks Ocasio-Cortez, trip to Cancun at CPAC

Sen. Ted Cruz taunted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, making a joke out of the New York Democrat's fears of the deadly riot at the Capitol last month.

In his remarks, Cruz, R-Texas, said the U.S. faces “dark times” with Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, adding dramatically that “Bernie is wearing mittens, and AOC is telling us she was murdered,” his voice reaching a high pitch.

The reference to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ sartorial choices at President Joe Biden’s inauguration and Ocasio-Cortez’s account of the Capitol chaos came toward the beginning of a theatrical 16-minute speech from Cruz.

He made light of his widely panned escape from frigid, blackout-plagued Texas to Cancun, Mexico, this month, and he finished the speech by promising GOP successes to come and yelling: “In the immortal words of William Wallace: FREEDOM!!” The outburst was a reference to the film “Braveheart.”

The four-day convention kicked off Thursday in Orlando, Florida, and Trump is expected to give the final speech Sunday evening.

Ocasio-Cortez has said she feared for her life during the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. She was in the Cannon House Office Building, part of the complex, during the siege, and said on Instagram later she “did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive.”

Her recollection of the day prompted false accusations that she had misstated where she was that day.

Ocasio-Cortez’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Cruz’s barb.

Cruz was recently criticized for taking his family to Cancun, Mexico, while millions of Texans shivered in their unheated homes during the disaster. Cruz later said the trip was a mistake.

“Orlando is awesome,” he declared. “It’s not as nice as Cancun. But it’s nice.”