Hundreds of thousands of Texans remain without power or heat after a devastating arctic blast booted most of the state's independent grid offline. Nearly 40 people have died so far as a result, while others seek heat at warming stations or in their cars.
In the middle of the cold snap, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz left with his family for Cancún, Mexico—where the weather was a sunny 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to texts from Cruz's wife Heidi to friends, the family was tired of their "FREEZING" house and made a snap decision to take the trip, where they planned to stay at an oceanside Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Senator Cruz was spotted on the flight and soon, he'd gone viral for his eagerness to take a tropical vacation as his constituents froze. The Senator rebooked his flight at six the following morning for an afternoon return to Texas.
After initially implying the trip was meant to be overnight, Cruz said he'd planned to work from home while at the beach.
The Senator faced bipartisan backlash, but at least one person came to his defense: Donald Trump Jr.
Trump Jr. berated those he claimed were focusing more on Cruz than on Democratic governors' handling of other crises.
The erratic tweet linked to a Rumble video where Trump Jr. defended Cruz at length.
During the 2016 Republican primaries, former President Donald Trump and Cruz were infamously bitter toward each other as they vied for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump insulted Heidi Cruz's looks and implied that Senator Cruz's father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Though Cruz has since submitted to Trump with near unfailing loyalty, Trump Jr. still couldn't resist giving Cruz a Trumpian nickname that would highlight the scandal.
Trump Jr. said:
"Now, if I were a Trump, which I am, I'd come up with a nickname for something like this. Like maybe, I don't know, 'Cancún Cruz.' It's funny, okay? But like honestly I can't get on this bandwagon, trying to cancel the guy."
The nickname caught on for all the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, Cruz continues to be put through the wringer in the court of public opinion.
Protesters have begun gathering outside Cruz's home, urging him to resign.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC