Sen. Ted Cruz set the internet a-flurry by jetting off to Cancun during a devastating winter storm in the Lone Star State, but he is hardly the first — or likely the last — politician to take a vacation during a crisis.
Cruz released a statement Thursday saying he flew down to Mexico with his daughters “wanting to be a good dad” and flew back to Texas Thursday afternoon.
“My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas,” Cruz said. We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm. My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe.”
As images of the Texas senator masked up and eating a Cup Noodles at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport surfaced on the internet Wednesday night, users were quick to hearken back to images of then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, lounging on a state beach that was closed to the public because of a state government shutdown.
“That’s just the way it goes,” Christie said at the time. “Run for governor, and you can have a residence.”
Ok this may win the internet this morning: pic.twitter.com/0OxF4MHP6B
— Sven Sundgaard (@svensundgaard) February 18, 2021
Cruz was not alone in leaving a state in a winter weather emergency this week. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, was on a family ski vacation in New Mexico when he declared a state of emergency in his state on Friday.
Stitt and his family returned to Oklahoma by Monday.
“Like many Oklahomans, Governor Stitt worked remotely this weekend while on a previously planned trip to New Mexico with his family and has since returned safely to Oklahoma,” spokeswoman Carly Atchison told The Oklahoman.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put most of the world in crisis mode for almost a year now, with many countries on some form of lockdown for months, leading any non-essential travel to be met with extra scrutiny.
Former President Donald Trump was frequently criticized for golfing as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the county. Closer to home, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, a Democrat, came under fire for taking a family vacation to Mexico in November after urging his constituents to stay home to avoid contracting COVID-19.
Adler argued that there was no order against travel at the time.
“Someone could look at me and say, ‘He traveled,’” Adler told the Austin-American Statesman at the time. “But what they could not say is that I traveled at a time when I was telling other people not to travel.”
Three lawmakers in Canada were forced to resign a few weeks ago after ignoring their government’s guidelines to stay home because of the pandemic.
“We’ve been very clear. No one should be vacationing abroad right now,” Canadian President Justin Trudeau said. “One of the things that has been really, really important throughout this pandemic for Canadians is the sense that we are all in this together.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, was heavily criticized for attending a political adviser’s birthday party in Napa Valley as Californians were encouraged to stay at home. A few weeks later he issued a sweeping stay-at-home order for Californians.
Long before the pandemic, lawmakers and public figures came under fire for skipping town during times of need.
President Barack Obama was blasted by critics for refusing to end his vacation early to witness devastating flooding in Louisiana in 2016. President George W. Bush was often criticized for taking long vacations at his ranch in Crawford — with one trip lasting five weeks.
“Spending time outside Washington always gives the president a fresh perspective of what’s on the mind of the American people,” Bush said at the time. “It’s a time, really for him to shed the coat and tie and meet with folks out in the heartland and hear what’s on their minds.”
Perhaps receiving even greater backlash was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who drew massive criticism for skipping town to go to the Mexican resort city Cabo San Lucas a week before a 2008 playoff game. Romo completed only half of his 36 passes against the New York Giants, and the Cowboys lost their shot at the championship game, 21-17.
“You don’t go to Cabo the week before a playoff game,” former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman told Michael Irvin on a radio interview at the time. “You just don’t do it.”
