Ted Cruz boosted a bogus social media storm claim before being publicly dunked on by the Democratic governor he was trying to embarrass.
Cruz, 55, has faced repeated criticism for jetting off on vacations while natural disasters batter his home state of Texas.
Just last week, the GOP senator was photographed on a plane heading for a California tourist spot as the state braced for a winter storm.
Perhaps keen to deflect some of the public anger, Cruz turned his attention to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, 48, reposting a claim made on X that the Democratic governor was “touring” out of state amid a winter storm emergency back home.
Cruz added a “thinking” emoji to the repost.
As first reported by Mediaite, the post—since deleted—used a photo of Beshear and his wife outside a church to suggest the governor was missing the state’s emergency response. But Beshear swatted it away within hours.
“Sorry for missing this earlier, @tedcruz,” Beshear wrote. “Been busy leading my state’s emergency response all day.”
He added: “From Kentucky.”
Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake noted that the image used of Beshear was about a week old and that he had given a briefing from Kentucky that day.
Local outlet WKYT also reported that Beshear had been abroad the prior week with a “Team Kentucky” delegation for business meetings tied to the World Economic Forum.
For Cruz, the episode dragged up a theme that has repeatedly made him a punchline when disasters loom.
The Texas Republican continues to be dogged by his February 2021 flight to Mexico during a deep freeze back home. He was photographed flying to Cancún as millions of Texans were without power and water during the historic freeze—then rushed back after the backlash and called the trip a mistake.
Last July, he did it again, with the Daily Beast revealing Cruz was on vacation in Greece while Texas faced deadly flooding.
And last week, the “Where’s Cruz?” watch returned after strategist Shea Jordan Smith posted a photo of him aboard a flight said to be headed for Laguna Beach, California, even as forecasts warned of ice and arctic air moving toward Texas.
Cruz’s office told Austin station KXAN the travel was scheduled in advance and that he would return before the worst conditions arrived.
Days later, he tried to get out in front of the chatter with a jokey post insisting he was back home.
Cruz has also been burned by questionable reposts before. Mediaite noted that, in 2023, he amplified an image purporting to show a shark swimming on a flooded Los Angeles roadway—another viral fake that drew ridicule.
Cruz’s X misfire also comes as fresh questions swirl about what he says behind closed doors. In leaked donor recordings, Cruz is heard ripping into Trump’s tariff push and warning it could crater the economy ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Cruz also derided Vice President JD Vance as a “pawn” and claimed President Trump exploded when senators warned of political backlash—allegedly snapping: “F--k you, Ted.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Cruz’s office for comment.
