Republican Sen. Ted Cruz allegedly left his dog behind when he traveled with his family to Cancun, Mexico, in the middle of a disastrous blizzard that kept several million residents in his state without water, electricity and heat in below-freezing temperatures.
Cruz, who cut his trip short Thursday and flew back to Texas after photos surfaced of him at the airport, later admitted the trip was “obviously a mistake” during a historic crisis.
“In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it,” he told reporters.
»PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ted Cruz back in Texas after flying to Cancun during snow crisis
About 3 million homes were still without power on the day of Cruz’s flight to Cancun, although power has since been restored throughout much of the state, according to The Associated Press. Still, thousands remained without electricity or safe drinking water.
Ahead of Cruz’s return, Michael Hardy, a freelance reporter in Houston, paid a visit to the senator’s home in River Oaks on Thursday and found the family dog, Snowflake, standing alone inside the glass front door, according to a report by Newsweek.
“Just drove by Ted Cruz’s house in Houston,” Hardy wrote on Twitter and included a photo of the moment. “His lights are off but a neighbor told me the block got its power back last night. Also, Ted appears to have left behind the family poodle.”
Hardy later clarified that a security guard parked outside the home said he was there to care for the family pet.
“Just to clarify, this was taken around 1 p.m. central on Thursday. It’s possible Ted brought the poodle back from Cancun with him, or that a family member was staying behind to take care of the dog.”
Numerous voices on Twitter took Cruz to task about the dog and created hashtags and new accounts to shame the senator.
“Never thought I could dislike Ted Cruz more than I already did... until he left his dog #Snowflake home to freeze to death,” in a tweet that was liked 1,600 times.
One Twitter account appeared with the name @TedCruzPoodle, where the bio said: “Hi! I’m Ted Cruz’s poodle, Snowflake, living my best life while Texas freezes over and my a-hole dad is in Cancun. #Justice4Snowflake #TedFled”
Another account called @TheCruzDog emerged and said: “Ted invited himself on the Cancun trip. Everyone was all, ‘Uh, sure Ted, whatevs.’”
The outrage over the dog only contributed to the fallout that Cruz continued to face because of his decision to take a trip during one of the worst winter disasters in recent memory.
After Cruz arrived back in Texas, protesters were waiting and called for his resignation.
Cruz told reporters Thursday night that he returned to the U.S. because he realized he needed to be in Texas.
In an earlier statement Thursday, Cruz said he accompanied his family to Cancun a day earlier after his daughters asked to go on a trip because school was canceled for the week.
“Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon,” Cruz wrote, suggesting that he didn’t plan on staying in Mexico the entire time.
By late Thursday, however, Cruz admitted to Sean Hannity on Fox News that he had originally been scheduled to stay in Mexico through the weekend.
“I had initially planned to stay through the weekend and to work remotely there, but as I was heading down there I started to have second thoughts almost immediately because the crisis here in Texas,” Cruz said Thursday after arriving back in Texas.
Cruz had booked a roundtrip plane ticket which had a return flight of Saturday, which he rebooked at 6 a.m. Thursday to come back to Texas after a furor erupted on social media over his travels during a historic polar vortex that’s been blamed for more than 30 deaths nationwide, including at least 10 victims in Texas.
A group text between Cruz’s wife, Heidi, and her friends was also leaked to the press Thursday, revealing that she had shared the family’s travel itinerary and invited them to come along. The itinerary showed the Cruzes would take a flight out at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday and return to Houston at 6:15 p.m. Sunday. The plan also included reservations at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun for $309 per night.
The state Republican Party chair declined to come to Cruz’s defense Thursday.
“That’s something that he has to answer to his constituents about,” Texas GOP Chair Allen West said when asked whether Cruz’s travel was appropriate while Texans are without power and water. “I’m here trying to take care of my family and look after my friends and others that are still without power,” West said. “That’s my focus.”
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