America’s political divide was on display on Friday, when Joe Biden flew to Texas to comfort the victims of a deadly winter storm, while Ted Cruz, a beleaguered state senator, basked in the Florida sun and joked about your recent vacation in Mexico.
The President of the United States, who made empathy the center of his election campaign, and First Lady, Jill Biden, traveled to Houston for their first trip to a place of great disaster since taking office on January 20.
At least 40 people died in Texas as a result of the harsh winter, which caused widespread power outages and frozen plumbing that exploded and flooded homes.
Biden’s first stop was an emergency operations center for a briefing by Bob Fenton, interim administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and state and local emergency management officials.
The president thanked the workers for doing what he called “the work of God”. He also joined Jill Biden at a food bank.
Then, speaking at a Fema vaccination site, Biden said: “We are not here today as Democrats or Republicans. We are here today as Americans … When a crisis hits our states, like the one that hit Texas … it is our fellow Americans who are suffering and it is our job to help all those in need. Take care of each other. Don’t leave anyone behind. “
Consequently, Biden had already been accompanied by Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, both Republicans. But Cruz, the state’s other Republican senator, was enjoying a 27 ° C temperature in Orlando, Florida, and receiving applause from the biggest annual meeting of popular conservatives, where former President Donald Trump is the main speaker on Sunday.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Cruz highlighted a controversy last week when he flew to Cancún, Mexico, for a family vacation, even with millions of Texans shaking in unheated homes. “Orlando is incredible,” said Cruz. “It’s not as cool as Cancún, but it’s cool!”
The crowd laughed at the joke. Cruz protested the “cancellation of culture”, restrictions on coronavirus in restaurants and widely condemned Democrats as the “radical left” “shrill” and “furious” political.
“Bernie [Sanders] is wearing gloves and AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] is telling us that she was ‘murdered’. Cruz sneered at the Democratic Congresswoman, who said she feared for her life during the US Capitol insurrection on January 6.
He continued: “And the media desperately, desperately want to see a republican civil war. Freedom is under attack and what are we going to do? I will tell you, we will fight. “
Cruz was applauded for issuing a warning to members of his own party who wish to “erase the past four years” and ban the Trump movement “Make America great again”. “Let me tell you something now: Donald J Trump is not going anywhere,” he said.
Cruz and Republican colleague Josh Hawley were among the most prominent senators who voted to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election. The unrepentant Hawley received enthusiastic applause for narrating the episode.
“On January 6, I objected during the polling station’s certification – you may have heard about it,” said the Missouri senator. “I said that we should have a debate on electoral integrity. I said it is the people’s right to be heard and my constituents in Missouri want to be heard on this issue. “
The senator continued: “I was called a traitor. I was called a seditionist. “
Hawley said the “radical left” said he should be expelled from the Senate if he did not resign.
“I am not going anywhere. I will stay right here. I will defend them because, if we cannot have a free and open debate in this country, we will not have another country,” he said.
Cruz and Hawley are facing an investigation by the Senate ethics committee on their conduct before the insurrection. They and other members of the CPAC perpetuated the lie of a stolen election, although officials said it was the safest election in the history of the United States.
CPAC also listened to the son of former President Donald Trump Jr, who warned the Republican Party against going back in time. “If there is one thing that the Republican Party has been really good at in the past two decades, it is pulling out defeat from the clutches of victory,” he said. “They gave in to all special interests, they gave in to corporate America, they gave in and bowed to the radical left that hates them.”
The combative Trump Jr reserved some of his barbs for Joe Biden, telling CPAC: “The first 30 days were a disaster. The lies that the media said you wouldn’t happen are all happening. But, hey, at least they have a diverse office! “
On Sunday, Trump, 74, is expected to balance the possibility of running for president again in 2024, a prospect that complicates the lives of other aspirants, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who declined an invitation to the CPAC, and Mike Pompeo , a former secretary of state, is expected to speak on Saturday.
There was vivid evidence of Trump’s continued dominance over the Republican Party when a golden statue of him was seen at CPAC. The kitschy monument is bigger than life, with a gold head and Trump’s jacket with a white shirt and red tie. Oddly, the wretched ex-commander-in-chief also appears to be holding a wand and United States flag sports shorts.
Participants can buy $ 2 stickers that say “Trump is my president”, “Biden is not my president”, “Trump 2024” and a photo of the 45th president with the question “Do you still miss me?” A T-shirt has a picture of Trump with the slogan “Undefeated champion of impeachment”; another shows Biden with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache and the words “Not my dictator”.
CPAC moved from its normal location in Maryland to Florida due to coronavirus safety restrictions. Organizers called for participants to wear face masks, only to receive boos and boos. A TV reporter who entered the scene estimated that only about 60% of people used the masks correctly.