Ted Cruz’s location is unclear amid claims that he left Texas frozen for Cancún

Ted Cruz’s location is unclear amid claims that he left Texas frozen for Cancún

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  • Texas Senator Ted Cruz is under attack after unverified images suggest he left Texas on Wednesday.
  • Statements circulated on Twitter that he had flown to Cancún. Cruz hasn’t commented yet.
  • Insider was not able to immediately verify the images, which also caused outrage.
  • Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz was the target of a flurry of criticism on Wednesday night, when unverified images circulated on Twitter, appearing to show him taking off from the storm-ravaged state.

Insider was unable to verify the images immediately and was unable to contact Cruz or one of his representatives immediately for comment. Until the beginning of Thursday, no media had reported a response from Cruz.

But Fox News, citing an unnamed GOP source, reported that he actually made the trip.

Even so, the images turned out to be politically explosive. The Democratic Party of Texas called for Cruz’s resignation, accusing him of leaving the state at a time of crisis.

Cancún, Mexico, Cruz’s supposed destination, has become a trending topic on Twitter as speculation has escalated.

Insider was unable to prove unmistakably from the images where Cruz was. But here’s what Insider can find, based on the information that circulated on Thursday morning:

The images appear to have been shared for the first time by Twitter user Juan Gomez, although it is unclear whether he took them:

David Schuster, a former MSNBC journalist, later posted that he had “confirmed” that Cruz and his family had flown to Cancun on Wednesday night “for a few days at a resort they had visited before”.

He gave no details on how he confirmed it, or with whom.

Keith Edwards, a former aide to Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and who was previously involved with the anti-Trump Project Lincoln, posted other images that he said were sent to him by someone who saw Cruz on his flight to Cancún.

And he said he was sharing a photo of Cruz at the airport about 35 minutes before the flight to Cancún:

A Twitter user noticed that one of the images showing the man appears to display the time in the background as 4:10 pm:

KSAT, an affiliate of San Antonio ABC, ran a story on Wednesday night asking if Cruz had gone to Cancún.

The agency noted that the United UA1020 flight left Houston for Cancun at 4:44 pm – 34 minutes after the time shown in the photo.

Another unverified image claims to show Cruz after arrival:

The image shows a man in different clothes, but who seems to be wearing the same shoes as in the previous photos and with the same white bag with yellow label.

Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Cruz for his Senate seat in 2018, pointed to speculation on Thursday morning.

In an interview with MSNBC, O’Rourke attacked Cruz, describing him as “the junior senator from Texas, who I understand is on vacation in Cancun now, when people are literally freezing to death in the state in which he was elected. to represent and serve. “

Insider has contacted the people who posted all of the images above in search of more information, but has not yet received a response.

Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, tweeted that “Ted Cruz flew to Cancún”.

Insider also scanned the images in these tweets using the TinEye reverse image search software, which can show whether the images have been published before. The service did not find the images on other sites, suggesting they are recent.

Cruz has a wife and two daughters. Some of the unverified photos show Cruz with a young woman who looks similar to one of her daughters, but no one else who looks like her family.

Some Twitter users noticed that the mask the man wore corresponds to one that Cruz usually wears:

And others stated that the ring worn by the man in the photo appeared to be the same as Cruz was photographed wearing:

Users also claimed that another unverified image showed Cruz in the United lounge at the airport. It is not clear where the image originated or who took it.

Cruz appears to have already vacationed in Cancún. Page Six reported in January 2020 that Cruz was seen with his family at Nizuc Resort & Spa.

The Senate is currently in recess.

As a senator, Cruz has no direct role in managing the state’s response to disasters.

But the images provoked a furious reaction just the same.

The Texas Democratic Party official report shared Schuster’s tweet, writing: “Texans are dying and you’re on a flight to Cancún. #TedCruzRESIGN”

Gene Wu, a Democratic state representative from Texas, also tweeted criticism of Cruz based on the images, although he offered no further evidence:

Sawyer Hackett, senior adviser to Democrat Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shared some images, writing: “It looks in the middle of the worst energy crisis in Texas history, @tedcruz is way to Cancún with your family. “

Cruz’s Twitter accounts give no indication of his location and are instead retweeting updates about the storm or sharing other political updates.

On Wednesday, while he was traveling, Cruz’s office released two press releases on his behalf – one attacking New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the other in honor of Rush Limbaugh.

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