Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, was rebuked on Saturday by the Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas, for his “betrayal” during a severe winter storm that hit the state in February 2021.
Winter Storm Uri brought record amounts of snow to Texas, which saw millions of Texans lose power and clean water amid the freezing temperatures. There were 246 deaths related to the storm and Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar later said that the financial loss from the storm likely fell between $80 billion and $130 billion.
Cruz received backlash for leaving with his family to Cancun, Mexico, as his state suffered from the storm’s devastating impact. A photo of Cruz on a plane circulated online and upon his arrival home, he was met with protesters calling for the senator to resign.
At the time, Cruz said that he flew down to Cancun to chaperone his daughters on the flight and then quickly returned back. He called it “a mistake,” but said he was “trying to be a dad.”
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Ahead of freezing temperatures that parts of Texas faced this week, Cruz warned his constituents of the weather while jokingly referencing the Cancun debacle.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, “Texans, with the freeze coming, wrap your pipes, cover your plants, stay off icy roads & keep your family safe. And, if it gets too damn cold, join me in Cancun!”
The Houston Chronicle‘s editorial board wrote in an opinion piece on Saturday that Cruz’s joke was “too soon” for Texans. “It will probably always be too soon,” the board wrote.
“Who laughs about a deadly storm that left millions without power and totaled billions in financial losses? Someone with a cold heart and warm hands cradling a piña colada. Your dog Snowflake may have forgiven you for your betrayal, senator, but we haven’t,” the newspaper’s editorial wrote.
Newsweek reached out to Cruz’s office via email for comment.
During the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri, Houston-based journalist Michael Hardy went by Cruz’s house to find that the senator wasn’t home, but that his dog Snowflake was. Hardy posted a picture of Snowflake looking out a glass door of the home on social media, which led people to speculate that Cruz left his dog home alone.
However, in an article in New York magazine, Hardy wrote that a security guard that had been in an SUV parked in Cruz’s driveway told him that he was taking care of the dog.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.