Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) set the record straight after he was criticized for flying to California on a planned trip ahead of a “catastrophic” winter storm projected to blast through the Lone Star State this weekend.
The 55-year-old politician was photographed standing up out of his seat and in a crowded aisle on a United Airlines flight that had reportedly just landed in the Golden State on Tuesday.
“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.
Cruz’s office responded to the viral photo that has been viewed more than 8 million times, saying the trip had been planned before the storm was forecasted.
“Senator Cruz is currently on pre-planned work travel that was scheduled weeks in advance. He will be back in Texas before the storm is projected to hit,” a spokesperson for his office told KHOU.
The furious snow and ice storm will be a “widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas, Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Post.
The brutal storm is forecasted to bring heavy snowfall, sleet and freezing rain starting Friday in Texas before making its way through the Midwest to the East Coast.
Up to 2 feet of snow can fall in the southern Appalachians, AccuWeather reported.
Some social media users condemned Cruz’s flight before learning about his schedule, saying it was a habit for the senator to flee when the temperature drops.
“Fled Cruz is at it again,” one commenter jeered.
“Dude doesn’t like the cold,” another wrote.
“I’m noticing a pattern,” a third mused.
Other commenters raced to question what legal powers and abilities the three-term senator has during a storm.
“Wtf did you expect him to do? Come clear your driveway?
“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.
Other users pointed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip to Switzerland, where he was “frolicking” at the World Economic Forum during President Trump’s speech.
“Are you equally upset with all the other politicians in Davos while a storm heads towards their constituents, or are you just being a hypocritical little b—h?” a X user said.
Critics were also quick to compare Cruz’s flight on Tuesday to his infamous impromptu vacation to Cancun in 2021 after Texas was struck by the deadly Winter Storm Uri.
Cruz says his family lost power, and his daughters were off from school and had wanted to escape the cold.
The family was caught on video soaking up the sun in Mexico while thousands across their home state were reeling without power and food.
Officials found 246 people died in Texas as a result of the storm, according to the Texas Tribune.
Cruz cut his vacation short and flew back to his Houston home, saying he regretted taking the trip the second he boarded the flight.
“It was obviously a mistake and in hindsight I wouldn’t have done it,” he told the Dallas Morning News.
“I was trying to make decisions. When you’ve got two girls who’ve been cold for two days and haven’t had heat or power and they’re saying, ‘Look we don’t have school why don’t we go, let’s get out of here,’” he said.
Cruz was also criticized for vacationing in Greece while devastating floods killed 135 people in Texas’ Hill Country last summer.
He was photographed taking pictures at the famed Parthenon during his family’s pre-planned vacation when the floods struck early July 4.
The photo came as Cruz said he flew back to Texas “as fast as humanly possible,” leaving Sunday and returning to the Lone Star State that night.
