Daily Beast Tries To Use Texas Tragedy To Attack Ted Cruz

The Daily Beast tried to accuse Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) of vacationing in Athens while Texas experienced massive flooding, despite being told the senator returned to the U.S. as quickly as possible.

“A bulls*** piece published by a bulls*** rag outlet with no credibility, and with no regard for the tragedy in Texas,” Macarena Martinez, communications director for Cruz, said on social media. “The Senator is on the ground in Texas and arrived as fast as humanly possible. I explained all of this to their two-faced reporter.”

By Friday afternoon, Cruz had spoken with President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the senator said on social media.

By Sunday, Cruz was on the ground in Texas.

“Texas is grieving right now,” Cruz said at a press conference today. “The pain, the shock of what has transpired the last few days has broken the heart of our state.”

The Daily Beast’s hit piece comes after multiple outlets have tried to blame conservatives for the flooding in Texas. CNN anchor Dana Bash said climate change and the Trump administration were to blame for the flooding, and actress Rosie O’Donnell said Trump gutted “early warning systems” that could have prevented the tragedy.

But meteorologists say the flooding was caused by rare circumstances, not federal cuts to the National Weather Service.

“Just looking at the actual warning services that NWS provided during the event, they were solid and provided the level of warning and alerts that the public should expect to receive for an event such as this,” Alan Gerard, a former director of the Analysis and Understanding Branch in the National Severe Storms Laboratory at NOAA, said.

At least 90, including 28 children, have been declared dead from the flooding. Trump has announced plans to visit the scene of the tragedy later this week.