As if the general public needed even more reason to dislike him, Republican Senator Ted Cruz fled his home state of Texas for the sandy beaches of Cancun amid a devastating storm that left millions without power. 

Cruz claims that he left Texas so that he could accompany his daughters who wanted to take a trip with their friends in response to the cancellation of school. In a statement released on the day of his departure from Cancun, Cruz said, “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.” 

Regardless of my disdain for Cruz, I’m glad that we have finally found common ground: parents should cross borders for the sake of their children.

But, not even 24 hours after Cruz attempted to incriminate his own daughters to conceal his lack of humanity, text messages from a group chat with Cruz’s wife, Heidi, were leaked, exposing that the entire “doting dad” narrative was fabricated.

Counter to Cruz’s initial statement, the messages revealed that Heidi was the one who planned the trip, which was supposed to span from Wednesday to Sunday. 

As always, Cruz has managed to make himself out to be the victim in the situation, disregarding the fact that his actions resemble that of a poorly-written movie villain. Speaking to the Ruthless podcast, he revealed that his wife was “pretty pissed” that someone had violated the trust of their group chat.

The entire interview was essentially an hour of Cruz blaming all of his troubles on the left and claiming that the media is only attacking him because they can no longer target Trump. 

Newsflash, Ted; your position as one of the most hated men in the country has nothing to do with Antifa or the liberal agenda, and everything to do with your repulsive pattern of valuing reputation over your constituency who gave you your job.

Cruz sympathizers argue that the slander he is receiving on social media is uncalled for, that he is not a power grid expert, and he has no control over the power outage. But, those who argue this are ineptly misunderstanding the role of a politician.

No one expects Cruz to single-handedly overthrow the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which is responsible for the power grid. No one expects him to rewire the entire Texan power grid.

But in times of crisis, people look to politicians for comfort and reassurance. The foundation of serving as an elected official is fulfilling the needs of those who voted you in. Serving the needs of Texans at this time could look like volunteering at a shelter, organizing collections of warm outerwear for those who cannot afford it, or even just offering condolences for those who have lost their loved ones to this storm.

What it absolutely does not look like is fleeing your state and sunbathing idly as dozens of people who you promised to serve freeze to their deaths.

The sardonic irony of Cruz retweeting sentiments telling people to stay warm, as he was basking in Cancun’s eighty-degree weather seems straight out of an article by The Onion. Although Cruz has done an impressive job of making himself out to be insufficient without any assistance, his incompetency is amplified when his actions are compared to those of his Democratic rivals. 

Beto O’Rourke, who unsuccessfully challenged Cruz for the Senate in 2018, spent the weekend driving 8.5 hours from El Paso to Austin to deliver water to desperate Texans, as well as raising over one million dollars to help provide food, shelter, and water to those who had been most affected by the storm.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Congresswoman from New York, not only raised five million dollars for Texans in need, but also flew to Houston to personally distribute supplies.

Cruz’s actions in his state’s time of need prove that he is not suitable for the United States Senate. If there is one good thing that has come out of this ordeal, it is that Cruz’s true, ugly colors have come to light. When it’s time for re-election in 2024, I hope that Texas has learned its lesson, and collectively decides that it is time to let Cruz cruise away.