Ted Cruz location unclear amid allegations he froze Texas for Cancun

Ted Cruz location unclear amid allegations he froze Texas for Cancun

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  • Texas Senator Ted Cruz is under fire after unverified footage indicates he left Texas on Wednesday.
  • There were rumors circulating on Twitter that he had flown to Cancun. Cruz has not yet commented.
  • Insider was unable to verify the images immediately.
  • Visit the Insider Business Department for more stories.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz came under fire late Wednesday when unknown images circulated on Twitter showing him taking a flight from the storm-stricken state.

Insider could not immediately verify the images and could not immediately reach out to Cruz or one of his representatives for comment. As of early Thursday, no media report has reported a response from Cruz.

Those images were nonetheless politically explosive. The Democratic Party in Texas has demanded that Cruz resign and accuse him of abandoning the state in a time of crisis.

Cancun, Mexico, Cruz’s alleged destination, became a trending topic on Twitter as speculation began.

Insider could not unequivocally prove from the images where Cruz was. But here’s what Insider can find, based on information circulated Thursday morning:

It looks like the images were first shared by Twitter user Juan Gomez, but it’s not clear if he took the photos:

David Schuster, a former MSNBC journalist, later tweeted that he had “confirmed” that Cruz and his family had flown to Cancun a few days Wednesday night in a resort they had already visited. ‘

He did not give details on how he confirmed it, or with whom.

Keith Edwards, a former adviser to Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and who was previously involved in the anti-Trump Lincoln project, posted other images he said were sent to him by someone Cruz saw on their flight to Cancun.

And he said he shared a photo of Cruz at the airport about 35 minutes before the flight to Cancun:

One Twitter user commented that it appears that one of the images the man shows shows the time in the background as 16:10:

San Antonio, ABC subsidiary, KSAT, asked a story Wednesday night in which he asks if Cruz is going to Cancun.

The exhaust valve noted that United flight UA1020 departs for Houston from Cancun at 16:44 – 34 minutes after the time indicated in the photo.

Another unverified image claims Cruz points to his arrival:

The photo shows a man wearing different clothes, but it looks like he is wearing the same shoes as in previous photos and with the same white bag with a yellow label.

Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Cruz for his Senate seat in 2018, pointed to the speculation on Thursday morning.

In an interview with MSNBC, O’Rourke attacked Cruz, describing him as “the junior senator from Texas, who I think is currently on vacation in Cancun when people are literally freezing in the state that he was elected to represent and serve. . “

Insider contacted the people who posted all the above images to get more information but have not heard of it yet.

Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives in Texas, tweeted that “Ted Cruz flew to Cancun.”

Insider also checked the images in these tweets using the reverse image search software, TinEye, which can show if it has been published before. The service did not find the images on other sites, indicating that it is recent.

Cruz has a wife and two daughters. Some of the unverified photos show Cruz with a young girl with a similar appearance to one of his daughters, but no other people who look like his family members.

Some Twitter users have noticed that the mask the man was wearing matches one that Cruz regularly wears:

And others claim that the ring worn by the man in the photo resembled one suggested by Cruz:

Users also claim that another unverified picture shows Cruz in the United lounge at the airport. It is not clear where the image originated or who took it.

It looks like Cruz has been on vacation in Cancun before. Page Six reported in January 2020 that Cruz was spotted with his family at Nizuc Resort & Spa.

The Senate is currently in recess.

As a senator, Cruz has no direct role in managing the state’s disaster response.

But the images caused a furious setback.

The official report of the Texas Democratic Party shared Schuster’s tweet and wrote: “Texans are deathing and you’re on a flight to Cancun. #TedCruzRESIGN”

Gene Wu, a Democratic state representative from Texas, also tweeted criticism of Cruz based on the images, although he did not provide further evidence:

Sawyer Hackett, a senior adviser to Democrat Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shared some images and wrote: ‘This occurs in the worst energy crisis in the history of Texas, @tedcruz is on his way to Cancun with his family. “

Cruz’s Twitter accounts do not give an indication of his location, but rather repeat updates about the storm or share other political updates.

On Wednesday, about the time he allegedly traveled, Cruz’s office issued two press statements on his behalf – one that attacked New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and the other one that paid tribute to Rush Limbaugh.

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