Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joked about his trip to Cancun, Mexico, during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
He opened his remarks by poking fun at the backlash he received for traveling to the destination while Texas was facing power outages due to severe winter weather.
“I gotta say, Orlando is awesome! It’s not as nice as Cancun,” Cruz said on Friday.
Watch his comments below:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at CPAC: "Orlando is awesome. It's not as nice as Cancun." pic.twitter.com/TghkHUhOPy
— The Recount (@therecount) February 26, 2021
In a statement last week, Cruz sought to explain his reasoning behind traveling while his state was experiencing the power crisis, as IJR reported.
“This has been an infuriating week for Texas. The greatest state in the world has been without power. We have food lines, gas lines, and people sleeping at the neighbors’ houses,” he said.
Cruz continued, “Our homes are freezing, and our lights are out. Like millions of Texans, our family lost heat and power too.”
He said his daughters’ classes were canceled for the week and asked to “take a trip with friends.”
Cruz explained, “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) suggested he could have avoided the controversy by resigning, as IJR reported.
“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,” she wrote on Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez continued, “But don’t blame me for this, my points are on Amtrak!”
During an appearance on Fox News, Cruz said he “initially planned to stay through the weekend and to work remotely there.”
He added, “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.”