Texas senator Ted Cruz is under fire after he fled the state in the middle of record-breaking cold temperatures. Millions of people are left without power or water while the senator and his family hopped on a plane to Mexico. Cruz is receiving all kinds of backlash for his actions including leaving his dog Snowflake behind.
Snowflake watching Ted Cruz dig his own grave. pic.twitter.com/JlMT3gofy1
— Sundae_Gurl (@Sundae_Gurl) February 21, 2021
The Senator released a statement hours after being spotted boarding a flight to Mexico. In the statement, Ted Cruz claimed that he was only on the flight because he was accompanying his daughters. Users on Twitter were quick to point out that Cruz seemed to be a bit overpacked for someone who was only just accompanying his daughters.
Local news in Dallas explained the excuse for his trip as, “Not long enough for a sunburn, but plenty of time to get blistered.” As the story continued, people learned that the family poodle, Snowflake, had actually been left at home.
This angered people especially after leaked text messages to the New York Times showed that Ted Cruz’s wife Heidi had described the home as, “FREEZING“. Poor Snowflake.
It was confirmed, however, a security guard was looking after the dog while the family was gone. A picture of Snowflake staring out of the dog rapidly went viral.
Just drove by Ted Cruz’s house in Houston. His lights are off but a neighbor told me the block got its power back last night. Also, Ted appears to have left behind the family poodle. pic.twitter.com/TmLyGQkASy
— Michael Hardy (@mkerrhardy) February 18, 2021
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Snowflake The Guard Dog
Ted Cruz’s block lost power but was able to get it back late Wednesday night. His house appeared to be empty except when looking in the glass front door a little white dog was spotted looking out. It has appeared as though Snowflake had been left behind while the Cruz family was in Mexico.
A security guard has informed a reporter that he offered to look after the dog while the family was away. The security guard assured the reporter that in fact, the dog was just fine.
According to Cruz’s Facebook, Snowflake is a rescue puppy. Many people on Twitter debated the breed of the puppy. The overall consensus is that the dog is a poodle. Some people suggested that the dog is actually a Bichon Frise. The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that the puppy should not have been left alone in the house.
After the photo was posted on Twitter, Snowflake began trending. Users responding to the photo upset that Snowflake was left in the house. Texans are suffering through record-breaking cold temperatures. Many are still without power and water. The thought of Ted Cruz leaving his dog behind in the cold to be on the beach took people over the edge.
The fact that Heidi Cruz’s text messages complaining that the house was, “FREEZING” just made matters worse. It caused people to question why the family thought it was okay to leave the dog in a house that the family thought was unbearably cold.
Twitter Frenzy
Just a week earlier, Ted Cruz has told Texans to “stay home” and then proceeds to hop on a plane to Cancun to escape the cold.
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The internet was quick to remind people that this isn’t the first time the Senator been hypocritical during a crisis. If there’s one thing the internet doesn’t do it’s forget. Naturally, some old tweets from Ted Cruz mocking California politicians for letting power outages happen while on their watch back in the summer of 2020.
With all of that going on, seeing Snowflake in the window of the dark house really made matters worse for people. Even though the security guard had stated that he was watching the dog while Cruz was away, it still didn’t sit right that the dog was left in that house.
Just drove by Ted Cruz’s house in Houston. His lights are off but a neighbor told me the block got its power back last night. Also, Ted appears to have left behind the family poodle. pic.twitter.com/TmLyGQkASy
— Michael Hardy (@mkerrhardy) February 18, 2021
There were people who questioned why the family couldn’t have someone else take the dog. After the photo went viral, a few users were skeptical about it. There was some questioning if the photo was a recent one because there wasn’t any snow on the ground.
One user responded, “I don’t think this is really @tedcruz house, where’s the snow?” To which the reporter who posted the photo tried to explain that the snow and ice had melted from the sunny days before. That response didn’t seem to convince some users.
I'll never forget the fact Ted Cruz abandoned his dog Snowflake in a house that was too cold for him to stay in.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 19, 2021
Many users found it rather funny that Ted Cruz has a dog named Snowflake.
In the event you thought @tedcruz could not possibly be a more detestable human being, he left his poodle alone in the house, freezing without electricity while they left to Cancún.
Oh, and here’s the kicker. #SenatorSnowflake has a dog named “Snowflake”. ❄️ https://t.co/BRE1iLs3q3
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) February 19, 2021
Andrea brought up a point that users are Twitter very much agreed with. Snowflake was all over social media with people worried about the dog’s safety.
I wish I lived in a country where Ted Cruz inciting an armed insurrection at Capitol that killed 7 Americans was treated with half the outrage and gravity of Ted Cruz fleeing to Mexico and leaving his poodle Snowflake alone at home.
— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) February 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/DevinMcG1/status/1362964952185638913?s=20
Update: Snowflake has now joined the 99.9 percent of Americans who reportedly can’t stand @tedcruz … https://t.co/YTdOdrrBJo
— Mkay (@JoyAnnReid) February 19, 2021
Another hashtag that began trending was #CancelCancunCruz which appears to be the new nickname given to the Texas Senator.
Ted Cruz betrayed Texas.
Ted Cruz betrayed his wife.
Ted Cruz betrayed his children.
Ted Cruz betrayed his country.Ted Cruz does not belong in the US Senate.
It's time to #CancelCancunCruz.pic.twitter.com/cFsnCDgfvV— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) February 19, 2021
Ted Cruz’s Response
Protestors were chanting outside of his house calling for the Senator to resign. Cruz told reporters when he arrived back, “Whether the decision to go was tone-deaf – look, it was obviously a mistake.”
He continued by stating the plan was to stay there through the weekend with his family. Cruz said, “I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane.” The internet was not pleased with that response. Cruz assured people that his attention is now fully on providing for the needs of Texans.
The record-breaking cold has been linked to more than 20 deaths so far. The state’s Democratic Party is also calling for Ted Cruz’s resignation after this trip to escape the cold. Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement, “Barring that, we will put all of the resources we have into defeating him and every Texas Republican who abandoned us in this disaster.”
The internet seems to be in complete agreeance after his offensive behavior has really put people off during this crisis. Not to mention the Cancun Cruz memes have not slowed down.
