A winter storm may be approaching, but Senator Ted Cruz is feeling the heat. The politician garnered backlash for apparently booking a flight out of Texas for California.
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I get it. No one wants to deal with the cold when the forecast turns ugly. You have to deal with grocery aisles thinning and quietly wondering if you’ll still have power after the storm hits.
But not everyone can hop on a flight right before another blast of winter weather. “Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted earlier today, January 20, 2026, on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front,” political commentator Shea Jordan Smith wrote on X.
According to Newsweek, the image originated on TikTok before quickly going viral. As you can imagine, people weren’t happy. Several social media users angrily blasted Cruz for his habit of fleeing when things get cold.
Ted Cruz Under Fire
“Fled Cruz is at it again,” one commenter wrote.
“Dude doesn’t like the cold,” another wrote.
“I’m noticing a pattern,” yet another also wrote.
However, Cruz had his defenders as well, it would seem.
“Wtf did you expect him to do? Come clear your driveway?” one wrote.
“Senator Cruz’s job requires paper and pencil. He should have every right to leave the state during state of emergencies just like any other civilian,” another user added.
I get why people are so hostile. In 2021, Cruz took his daughters to Mexico while thousands were without power amid a winter storm. He later admitted, “It was obviously a mistake.”
So it feels a bit like history is repeating itself. But Cruz’s representatives promised it’s not a repeat. A spokesperson told multiple outlets the senator was on “pre-planned work travel” and would return “before the storm is projected to hit.”
But Smith was critical of the politician.
He told Newsweek, “It’s the worst feeling in the world up now know that whenever I see my junior senator boarding a plane in advance of a weather emergency, that people in the city and state they I love so much are about to face extreme circumstances.”
He added, “Texas deserves a full-time Senator. Not a part-time podcaster and vacation blogger.”