Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) found himself under fire after photos circulated on social media about his travel to Cancun, Mexico, as his state was facing a power crisis amid severe winter weather.
Cruz later defended himself following the reports, saying he was “wanting to be a good dad” so he flew his daughters down to Cancun because they had a week off of school and “asked to take a trip with friends.”
The senator continued to defend his family’s vacation during an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday evening.
Cruz explained:
“Heidi and me, we lost power for two days. Our house was dark. We had no heat…We were all huddled around the fireplace because it was the only heat in the house, and after a couple of days after the girls being really cold and the [temperatures] being in the teens or the 20s outside, our girls said ‘Look, school has been canceled for the week. Can we take a trip and go somewhere warm?’ And Heidi and I, as parents, we said ‘OK, sure.'”
He later added, “Last night I flew down with them to the beach and then I flew back this afternoon. I had initially planned to stay through the weekend and to work remotely there.”
“But, as I was heading down there, you know, I started to have second thoughts almost immediately because the crisis here in Texas, you need to be here on the ground. And as much as you can do by phone and Zoom, it’s not the same as being here,” Cruz continued.
Watch his interview below:
Texas is facing a power loss from a brutal winter storm, and roughly 13 million Texans are facing water challenges.
Cruz has admitted it was “obviously a mistake” to go to Cancun.
The Houston police assisted with Cruz’s departure to Cancun. However, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo took aim at the senator over his trip.
Acevedo said during a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer on Thursday night, “I think it’s a little tone-deaf. And sometimes you got to teach your kids the word ‘no’ and this probably would have been a good time to tell your kids ‘no, we’re blessed, but we have to wait till we get Texas on our feet.'”
“Again, we’ve all made bad decisions sometimes,” Acevedo added. “As a dad, maybe his heart got the best of him.”
The New York Times reports that the senator’s wife, Heidi, proposed a getaway to some friends and Houston neighbors to Cancun until Sunday in text messages.
Cruz received backlash from Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who wrote on Twitter, “If Sen. Cruz had resigned back in January after helping gin up a violent insurrection that killed several people, he could’ve taken his vacation in peace. Texans should continue to demand his resignation. But don’t blame me for this, my points are on Amtrak!”