The Truth About Ted Cruz's Anger Towards His Neighbors

Texas Senator Ted Cruz is shifting attention away from his Cancún vacation scandal by criticizing his neighbors. The politician and his family were spotted boarding a plane to Mexico on February 18th, 2021. Photos of the luggage-towing senator and his family spread like wildfire on social media, with many users shaming Cruz for abandoning his state in the midst of a deadly winter storm that left millions of his constituents without food, water, electricity, or shelter. Cruz quickly issued various statements attempting to justify his actions, including blaming his daughters for the trip. No matter what Cruz said, the optics surrounding the situation continued to crumble. The family's public image took another big hit when text messages sent by his wife, Heidi Cruz, to friends and neighbors were exposed to the public. The day before they beat feet out of Texas, Heidi reportedly texted that their house was "FREEZING" and invited some friends to join them on a family vacation to Mexico. This exposed Ted Cruz's lie that the trip was instigated by his daughters, and that he was just dropping them off. Cruz's earlier statement read, in part, "With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon." But we now know that's not true. The "Smoking Gun" text messages revealing this lie were reportedly released by Cruz's neighbors — and he has some strong words for those who spoke to the press. Cruz took aim at his neighbors on an episode of the Ruthless podcast, saying that his wife, Heidi, was, quote, "pretty pissed" over leaked texts about their vacation plans. The Republican also insinuated that his left-leaning neighbors might have been ones who leaked her messages to the media. Cruz added that his neighbors' actions were, quote, "a sign of how ridiculously politicized and nasty" the political climate is. He even offered up some advice to those who were critical of his cushy exit during a deadly crisis. As Texans rebuild after the collapse of the state's power grid, Cruz seems to have taken some accountability for his actions while also blaming the media for the backlash. Though he ultimately admitted to reporters that the trip was "obviously a mistake," saying he had "second thoughts" immediately as he boarded the plane, he also sought to shift the blame away from himself. He told Fox's Sean Hannity, "I think the media is suffering from Trump withdrawal, where they've attacked Trump every day for four years. They don't know what to do, so they obsessed over my taking my girls to the beach." This opinion came as Cruz and Hannity both pointed the finger at media bias, alleging that major news outlets had chosen to zero in on the Cancún scandal rather than Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's recent fall from grace. Cuomo has also faced criticism for allegedly covering up the full scope of coronavirus deaths in New York City nursing homes, according to the New York Times. Following his return from Mexico, Cruz continues to face heavy blowback from both Republicans and Democrats, who — for once — appear firmly united in their disapproval of the senator's actions. Republican congressman Michael McCaul told CNN, "I know Mr. Cruz called it a mistake and he's owned up to that, but I think that was a big mistake, and as for me, I was on the ground trying to help my people out and my constituents, and that's what we should be doing in a time of crisis." Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa told the New York Times he was shocked, but not surprised, by Cruz's decision to jet off amid the devastating winter storm, adding, "This is about as callous as any politician can get. He's a politician that really has never cared much about anybody but himself." Amid the barrage of criticism, Cruz has been hard at work combatting the bad PR and mending his reputation. On February 20th, the disgraced senator posted a series of pictures that showed him slicing brisket, distributing water bottles and posing with local law enforcement. Safe to say he may need to slice a whole lot of brisket in the future to make up for this gaffe. #TedCruz #Neighbors #Politics