Ted Cruz is in ... Cancun?

You may have heard, but Texas is currently experiencing the biggest energy crisis in the history of the state. Frigid temperatures and snow have blown out the state’s privatized power grid as plants across the state have failed. Millions are freezing and hungry, living without power, heat, and water for days. Officials say it in some places it could be several days more until things are up and running again.

And where is Texas Senator Ted Cruz during all this? Flying off to Cancun, of course.

Pictures of what appear to be Cruz and his family started making the rounds last night on Twitter. Though Cruz’s office still hasn’t confirmed if the senator is indeed taking a vacation, the man in the pictures sure does bear a striking resemblance. Naturally, people were (and are) outraged. A senator flying off to tropical climes while his constituents freeze and suffer through a cataclysmic weather event and energy failure is peak political repugnance. It’s more than just indifference—it’s outright disdain toward the people who voted for him. Boarding a plane to Mexico in plain view just makes it even worse.

And since Cruz is one of the most reviled figures in the Republican Party (and American politics in general), jokes began flying quickly. If his office winds up coming out and telling everyone that Cruz isn’t in Cancun and these pictures are of a very unfortunate man who happens to look exactly like the senator, there will be a lot of egg on faces. But until that moment just about everything coming Cruz’s way is warranted.

(If you’d like to help Texans, Nerdist has compiled a helpful list of local mutual aid funds and other organizations working to get people food, water, and shelter during the crisis. You can find some of their Venmos here as well.)

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