Texas senator Ted Cruz was rumoured to have escaped yet another weather warning for the Lone Star state after he was spotted flying to the Bahamas.
Mr Cruz said Texans should “be prepared and heed local officials’ warnings” on Friday because of a flash flood alert for Houston and the surrounding area.
He added in a tweet: “My team and I are closely monitoring the ongoing weather”.
Less than 24 hours later however, actor Craig Robinson appeared on The View live from the Bahamas and outed the Texas senator for being on his flight.
That meant Mr Cruz was possibly on the popular holiday island when he sent the weather warning tweet.
When approached for comment, Mr Cruz’s Special Advisor for Communications Steve Guest told The Independent via email that this is a “ridiculous story that has only one goal: get resistance rage clicks.”
“The Senator is in Texas after a 4-day trip in the Bahamas. We know this time of the year is hard for the angry left, but have a nice 4th of July,” he said.
This situation is an echo of Mr Cruz’s trip to Cancun, Mexico, in February 2021 while hundreds of thousands of Texans went without power during a winter storm.
“You had an interesting seatmate on your flight,” said The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg to Robinson, who is well known for his roles in The Office and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She continued: “Who was it?”
Laughing, the actor responded by saying: “It was Ted Cruz...right across (from me)”.
Robinson said the Republican senator had been on his way to the Bahamas, and was probably on the island – a three hour flight away from Houston, where flash flooding was forecast for Friday.
The View co-host Ana Navarro laughed as she told viewers: “I didn’t know there was a snow storm going on in Texas”.
On social media, dozens also mentioned the ill-fated Cancun trip and tweeted back at Mr Cruz for his weather warning alert.
“So… are you gonna start trading in those Jet Blue miles soon? Or are our tax dollars gonna keep funding your travels?,” tweeted author Megan Kelly Hall.
Another person joked: “Monitoring the weather while I sip on a Pink Lady cocktail by the pool in my Cancun hotel! Just letting the people of Texas know, I’m here for you guys!”
“Actually, he is currently in the Bahamas,” another Twitter user replied, “but same concept”.
Apologising for his Cancun escape last year, Mr Cruz said his his family’s visit to Mexico was “obviously a mistake” and that “In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it”.
