Ted Cruz Cancun Outrage Strong: 'Simply Put... Ted Cruz Left Texans For Dead'

The backlash to Sen. Ted Cruz's now-aborted Cancun vacation has been strong as constituents and media have pointed out several ways his story does not line up with available facts.

After the trip went public, Cruz said he tried to be a "good dad," according to the New York Daily News.

"School being canceled for the week, our girls wanted to take a trip with friends," Cruz said in a statement. "Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them."

Cruz once again turned into a trending topic on social media.

He claimed he was planning to return today, but NBC News' Peter Alexander verified the senator booked his return flight early Thursday morning after having been scheduled to originally return this weekend.

NEW: Ted Cruz booked his return ticket from Cancun to Texas at 6 a.m. today, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Cruz was initially booked to return on Saturday.
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) February 18, 2021

Social media has mocked Cruz incessantly, since the trip leaked to the public Wednesday night.

Ted Cruz fleeing Texas to Cancún while 60% of the people has no access to electricity and running water! @ProjectLincoln pic.twitter.com/LnyulqaTu0
— @&$)( (@catchupwithit) February 18, 2021

But the mockery turned to outrage as Cruz has been caught in several untruths related to the trip.

Simply put... Ted Cruz left Texans for dead.

What a POS Senator 🤬

2024 is too long to wait to #VoteHimOut

He must be recalled or resign!!#RecallTedCruz #TedCruzRESIGN #TedFled #TedCruzFailedTexas
— Jake Lobin (@JakeLobin) February 18, 2021

🔥Democrat #Texas State Rep. @ChrisGTurner: "Just when I think @TedCruz couldn't disappoint Texans more, he finds a new way to do it.

As far as I'm concerned it'd be fine if he remained in Cancun. He doesn't do anything for us."💥#TedFled #CancunCruz
pic.twitter.com/sogvtt8DHe
— Dena Grayson, MD, PhD (@DrDenaGrayson) February 18, 2021

Remember #TedFled forever.https://t.co/EE9hF0WZqR
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) February 18, 2021

The fact that Ted Cruz flew to Cancun during the Texas emergency shows that GOP senators see themselves as entitled rulers instead of public servants. Let's get #TedFled trending!
— Buddy Winston (@budwin9) February 18, 2021

The hashtag #TedFled was trending on Twitter much of Thursday afternoon. Many took notice that Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic challenger Cruz narrowly defeated in the 2018 general election, stepped up where Cruz did not.

Such a contrast. A true leader vs. a selfish, privileged, lying , incompetent fool.#TedFled https://t.co/uhNRWhWQvd
— Her Royal Highness 👑✡️🇺🇦 (@212to502) February 18, 2021

Beto sums up Ted Cruz perfectly. 😏#TedFled Beto Led. pic.twitter.com/ZyXILGZCh0
— Erika #TRUTH #StandWithUkraine Andrade🗽🌎 🇺🇦 (@_ErikaAndrade_) February 18, 2021

Adding to the anger was the news Cruz's staff contacted the Houston Police Department Wednesday afternoon asking for assistance at the airport for the senator.

pic.twitter.com/Qe4MqBIDzT
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) February 18, 2021

Thursday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he was unaware of any request to assist Cruz upon his return, but the department was monitoring the situation.

While we are not aware of any request from Senator Cruz’s staff for assistance regarding his return, his arrival will more than likely turn into a media circus, so @houstonpolice will be monitoring the situation. https://t.co/ERAVPoM79D
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) February 18, 2021

It is a terrible look for Cruz, even as GOP pundits tried to explain away his conduct.

Ben Shapiro: "It's not a real time crisis that Ted Cruz, the senator from Texas, can do anything about...Do they expect Ted to go there with, like, a blowtorch and start defrosting all of the pipelines?" pic.twitter.com/Y36OWJLsXz
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) February 18, 2021

White House press secretary Jen Psaki only briefly touched on the situation.

"Many people across the state are without power, without the resources they need and we expect that would be the focus of anyone in the state who was elected to represent them," Psaki said.

Cruz's trip also flew in the face of a Centers for Disease Control warning against travel to Mexico due to high COVID-19 levels. The CDC lists Mexico in the "very high" risk category.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans are facing criticism for ignoring warnings about the state's power grid. They were warned 10 years ago the grid was susceptible to worse-than-normal winter weather.