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Cruz Control - Greece vacation during the Texas flood [1]
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Date: 2025-07-09
Every time I hear about or see Ted Cruz, I am reminded of what comedian and now former Sen. Al Franken said about him. "I like Ted Cruz more than anyone in the Senate --- and I hate Ted Cruz!"
Another classic from Franken happened at a Gridiron Club Dinner. Amy Klobuchar wanted to tell a joke during the dinner, but she wanted to get approval from Cruz first. She told Al, "When most people think of a bad cruise, they think of Carnival. But we Democrats in the Senate think of Ted." Then she softened it from "bad" to "difficult." Al told Cruz the joke and Ted suggested changing "difficult" to "challenging." Cruz said, "I believe in the First Amendment. Go ahead and tell your joke." Al told Ted he had an alternate punchline. "When most people think of a cruise that is full of sh*t, they think of Carnival. But we think of Ted." Cruz's smile disappeared and he walked away.
Cruz earned the nickname Cancún Ted when he took a vacation to Cancún, Mexico in February of 2021. It was a really bad cold snap. Power lines broke and power lost on the grid, and people were literally freezing in their own homes. Water pipes frozen, too. 47 people died. Cruz was reviled after he got back to Texas because, among other things, he didn't catch a plane back immediately.
Ted at Cancún airport.
People caught him at the airport. Reporters were waiting for him when he got back to Texas and it was all over the news. People still call him Cancún Ted to this day.
Well, now he's going to get a new nickname. He flew to Greece with family around July 3rd. The flash flooding in Texas started on Friday, July 4th. He was seen as the Parthenon in Athens on Saturday sightseeing. He finally got back to Texas on Sunday, the 6th.
Ted Cruz on Saturday July 5th, in Greece, when the floods were at their worst.
At the Parthenon, an eyewitness spotted Ted on Saturday, as reported to The Daily Beast. "As he walked past us I simply said, '20 kids dead in Texas and you take a vacation?' He sort of grunted. His wife shot me a dirty look. Then they continued on with their tour guide."
Cruz at the Parthenon, Athens, Saturday July 5th.
Cruz's communications director said that The Daily Beast story was "Total bullsh*t." She said that Cruz had flown back to Texas as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that doesn't jibe with flight records that showed numerous flights available before the one he finally took. There were flights on Friday and Saturday he could have taken. He obviously knew about the flood on Saturday, if not Friday.
I don't want to cheapen the disaster or be flippant about the flooding and the people who died and had their homes wash away, but Ted should get a get a new nickname for once again, being uncaring over the plight of his constituents.
I would suggest Greecey Ted. Maybe after Greek tragedy plays and authors. Euripides Eumenides Ted. We don't know where he was besides Athens. The island of Hydra is an hour and a half away from Athens. Cruz says "Hail Hydra." He can be that evil.
Kerr County could have had a new, improved flood warning system for $1 million, but their grant request was turned down by the state. Ted knows how to get money to Texas. He stuck a provision in the Big Ugly Bill to dedicate $85 million to steal the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian and move it to the Houston Space Center. 1.1% of that would have given Kerr County their flood warning system. Granted the space shuttle money was Federal, but Ted could have helped Kerr County instead of making a PR move for Houston.
Trump signed a major disaster declaration early Sunday morning, while Cruz was still in Greece. Cruz said he spoke with Trump over the weekend. When? Cruz reported that Trump said, "Anything Texas needs, the answer is yes." Sure makes a difference when it's a red state that needs help. When it's a blue state like California with their wildfires, the answer is, "When you stop being a sanctuary state or city." Or, "When you stop letting trans participate in women's sports."
That photo of Cruz at the Parthenon was taken at 6pm, local time. Cruz's communications director said Cruz was on a plane early Sunday morning. That still doesn't account for the time he would have known about it on Friday and Saturday, and still sightseeing.
According to Kerr County meeting minutes, the subject of an early warning system has come up 20 times since 1987. It just didn't get done and when they tried to, the state turned down their grant request.
The only thing positive Cruz has done in this disaster is to push back on criticism of the National Weather Service, who did do their jobs.
When caught in the wrong, Cruz is adept at damage control. We'll see if he gets a new nickname for this second vacation debaucle.
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