Here’s a look at the storm’s impact
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said flying to Cancun while much of his state suffers without power or water was a mistake.
“Look, it was obviously a mistake, and in hindsight I wouldn’t have done it,” the Republican lawmaker told reporters after returning to his Houston home Thursday night.
“I was trying to be a dad. And all of us have made decisions, when you got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven’t had heat or power and they’re saying, ‘Hey look, we don’t have school, why don’t we go. Let’s get out of here.’ I think there are a lot of parents that would be like, ‘Alright let me see if I can do this, great!’ That’s what I wanted to do.”
Cruz also said he regretted leaving his home state in the middle of a crisis almost as soon as he boarded the plane for Cancun.
“I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane, because on the one hand, all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our family, that’s something Texans have been doing across the state,” Cruz said.
“But I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously of for the state of Texas and frankly, leaving when so many Texans were hurting didn’t feel right and so I changed my return flight and flew back on the first available flight I could take,” Cruz continued.
“I couldn’t take a morning flight because the current restrictions require a Covid test, so I had to get a Covid test this morning, before I could get on a flight back, so I took the first flight I could get after getting the Covid test and testing negative.”
With protesters audible outside his home, Cruz said he understands the anger many Texans feel toward his decision.
“Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we’re in a strange time where we’re Twitter’s been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there’s a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides,” Cruz said. “I think everyone ought to treat each other with respect and decency and try to understand each other more particularly at a time of crisis.”
Cruz lauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for calling for an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ activities once power is restored.
