As Texas faces freezing temperatures and a lack of electricity, Ted Cruz made the decision to travel to Cancun. What he didn’t expect was the intense backlash that the trip would have when he was spotted at the airport. Unlike his constituents, Ted Cruz has the luxury of leaving the country for a vacation when a natural disaster hits. His actions have citizens calling for his resignation.

Senator Cruz was spotted at the airport pulling a suitcase while wearing a casual short-sleeved polo tucked into a pair of jeans with lightweight sneakers. Clothes that did not match the intense cold snap inflicting 30-degree temperatures on the state of Texas. It further emphasizes how out of touch Cruz was with the situation the state of Texas is in. 

He threw his daughters under the bus by telling media outlets that his daughters were the ones who wanted to travel to Mexico. A New York Times article by Shane Goldmacher and Nicholas Fandos authenticated leaked messages from Cruz’s wife revealing that they were already planning to fly to Cancun in order to escape the frigid cold. This contradicted Cruz’s initial statement that his daughters were the ones who wanted to go to Mexico. Cruz defended his actions as an “attempt to placate his two daughters, ages 10 and 12, after a ‘tough week.’” 

It is a ridiculous notion that the attempt to placate kids by taking them to Mexico was a good idea. Using his children as a scapegoat, that they were the ones who wanted to travel and escape the cold is cowardly. The state of Texas has also had a ‘tough week’ but Texans continue to suffer without a chance to escape, thousands stuck in colds as temperatures dropped as low as 21-degrees.
It highlights the hypocrisy of Ted Cruz as he’s continued to call out other political public figures for leaving while he’s doing the same things. Kathryn Krawczyk from Yahoo News found tweets from Senator Cruz that, “Deemed Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler a “hypocrite” for traveling to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and recording a video there telling Austin residents to stay home.” Why isn’t he taking accountability for his words or actions? The same actions that he condemned are the same ones he’s committing as a result he’s guilty of hypocrisy. Regardless of the political party, they should own up to the fact that they have the resources to go elsewhere while their constituents are the ones who are braving the storm. 

At the very least, this situation has provided common ground for Democrats and Republicans alike in the state; their representatives have the luxury to quietly escape the climate disaster occurring in their state while citizens continue to remain in their homes where temperatures continue to drop, pipes are bursting, fresh water is not readily available, the power remains off, and electricity bills continue to skyrocket. Had Senator Cruz not been spotted attempting to escape the ice storm, he would be in 80-degree weather at a nice hotel in Mexico waiting for this national emergency to blow over.