Ted Cruz and his family fly to Cancun amid Texas winter storm emergency
The Texas senator was seen boarding a flight to Cancun yesterday (Feb. 17) while millions in his state struggle without electricity and water.
Update: On Thursday morning (Feb. 18), Fox News’ Chad Pergram confirmed reports that Ted Cruz traveled to Cancun, Mexico with his family amid Texas’ deadly winter storm.
On Twitter, Pergram wrote, “Colleague Paul Steinhauser confirms GOP TX Sen Ted Cruz traveled to Cancun amid the TX storm/power outages.”
Pergram also quoted a Republican source as saying, “The photos speak for themselves.”
Original Story: A photo of Ted Cruz and his family hopping aboard a plane to Cancun while his state faces a historic emergency is going viral. The Texas senator has neither denied nor confirmed that he and his family traveled to the sunny Mexican city yesterday (Feb. 17), but multiple photos circulating social media appear to show Cruz at the airport. The news arrives as the death toll continues to increase in Texas, where millions have been without power and water for days.
According to Twitter sleuths, the man resembling Cruz in the airport photo is wearing the same mask, glasses, ring and tennis shoes that the senator has donned in past social media posts. Cruz’s wife, who has appeared on national TV, also appears to be at his side.
The photos place Cruz and his family at the Houston International Airport near the departure terminal for a United Airlines flight to Cancun. Online flight records show that the plane, flight UA1020, left for Cancun at 4:10 p.m. CST and arrived at 7:52 p.m. EST last night.
Journalist David Shuster also shared a photo of Cruz on the plane, tweeting, “Just confirmed [Ted Cruz] and his family flew to Cancun tonight for a few days at a resort they’ve visited before. Cruz seems to believe there isn’t much for him to do in Texas for the millions of fellow Texans who remain without electricity/water and are literally freezing.”
CNN’s Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju added, “Cruz’s office has not responded to photos on social media showing him traveling to Cancun. They haven’t confirmed or denied anything yet, not responding since last night. Comes as residents in Texas are left without running water or power amid the winter storm.”
According to NBC, extreme winter weather caused rolling blackouts last night that affected 1.8 million people. Multiple Texas cities have also ordered residents to boil their own water, as pipe breaks and a lack of electricity have forced water treatment plants to close. Nearly 264,000 Texan residents live in areas where water systems are completely shut down, the outlet adds.
See the photos of Cruz below.