ORLANDO — Sen. Ted Cruz poked fun at the backlash he has received over traveling to Mexico as a winter storm wreaked havoc on Texas, leaving millions of residents without power and water.
“Orlando is awesome!” Mr. Cruz said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “It is not as nice as Cancun, but it’s nice!”
Mr. Cruz traveled with his wife and children to Cancun last week to escape the harsh conditions in Texas, where residents were left without power for days.
The decision sparked a firestorm of controversy and Mr. Cruz hopped on the next flight back home.
Liberals pointed to Mr. Cruz having criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, for showing off expensive ice cream in her San Francisco home during the COVID-19 pandemic, or his past criticism of former President Obama’s golf trips.
He later said it was a “mistake” and issued a statement saying he was trying to be a “good dad” to his daughters, who wanted to go on a vacation with schools closed.
Mr. Cruz also was pranked at the Senate gym this week for his trip, NBC News reported. Lockers in the gym for several hours on Wednesday were lined with images showing Mr. Cruz returning to the Houston airport, wearing a gray polo shirt, jeans and Texas-flag masks. The memes said “Bienvenido de Nuevo, Ted!” meaning, “Welcome Back, Ted!”
The photo of Mr. Cruz was manipulated to make it look like he was dragging his suitcase through snow while holding a tropical cocktail in the other hand, according to the report.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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