Ted Cruz's Office Silent on Whether He Flew to Cancun Amid TX Blackout

Online sleuths are pretty sure he did, but there’s no confirmation so far

Where in the world is Sen. Ted Cruz? According to Twitter sleuths and fellow Mexico vacationers, the senator flew to Cancun, Mexico, this week as millions in his home state of Texas have been waiting for their power to be restored following a deadly snow storm.

Tellingly, the Texas Republican’s press office has not responded to inquiries (including TheWrap’s) about his whereabouts as Cruz and “Cancun” trended on Twitter along with photos of what appears to be the lawmaker jetting off to Mexico. Reporters from various outlets made the same observation on Twitter, as well, where aside from the photos of the vacationer who might be Cruz, users continued to share videos of flooding, water damage and power blackouts uploaded by Texas residents.

Local news outlets like the Dallas News reported that fellow passengers posted selfies from onboard a United Airlines flight from Houston with Cruz and his wife, Heidi. According to the paper, some passengers posted messages on Facebook that they had spoken to him.

The saga began late Wednesday, when the first photos appeared on Twitter. By Thursday morning, online sleuths had looked up flights visible on departure boards in the viral photos, pointed out that the man was holding a passport to leave the country, noted that the man in the photos is wearing a mask similar to one Cruz sported at the inauguration and were increasingly more convinced of the snaps’ authenticity. Reporters pointed out that the silence from the press department was becoming telling.

Texas politicians like former Congressman Beto O’Rourke called out Cruz on Thursday. Other state lawmakers and even Hollywood notables decided not to wait for confirmation and dived in.

“Ted Cruz tweeting a glowing tribute to Rush Limbaugh from a resort in Cancun (where he flew tonight while his constituents are literally freezing to death) is peak @GOP,” fumed Padma Lakshmi.

The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican group which is in the midst of its own PR nightmare for its handling of sexual harassment accusations against one of its founder, also needled Cruz: “When the going gets tough… head to Cancun, baby!”

See the photos below.