Fact Check: Did Ted Cruz fly to Laguna Beach to avoid Texas winter storm?

HOUSTON, TEXAS: A viral claim circulated on social media this week claiming that Senator Ted Cruz was photographed on a plane headed to a popular beach town as the state of Texas braced for an impending winter storm.

The image, shared online, showed Cruz aboard an aircraft as the National Weather Service warned of 'great swaths of heavy snow, sleet, and treacherous freezing rain' beginning Friday across much of the nation’s midsection and shifting toward the East Coast through Sunday.

The story gained traction and was shared widely, but how much of this story is actually true?

Claim: Ted Cruz traveled to Laguna Beach as Texas braced for winter storm

As forecasts warned that a winter storm could blanket much of the US South in snow in late January 2026, social media users circulated a photo they claimed showed Cruz traveling to the California coast ahead of the storm.

Political strategist Shea Jordan Smith, who lists Houston as their location on social media, shared the claim along with a photo of Cruz aboard a United Airlines flight across platforms including Bluesky, Facebook, Threads, and X.

Other social media users interacted with Smith’s posts, sharing the photo further across their networks.

One user reposted the claim on X with the caption, "You have to admire the consistency from @tedcruz. When there's a crisis in Texas, he sprints out of town."

Another user on X, sharing the same claim, commented, "Here we go again."

A user on Reddit posted the claim, "Ted Cruz once again caught fleeing Texas ahead of a rare winter storm."

Fact check: Misleading, Ted Cruz will return to Texas before storm

Forecasters at the NWS have warned that a large portion of Texas could be affected this weekend by 'dangerously cold temperatures, which are expected Saturday night through Monday morning.'

A spokesperson for Cruz said in a statement, “Senator Cruz is currently on pre-planned work travel that was scheduled weeks in advance. He will be back in Texas before the storm is projected to hit.”

His office also addressed the timing of his return to Texas, responding, "You have the tweet with the pic. Storm is projected to hit on Saturday; he'll be there before then." The senator has previously faced scrutiny for departing Texas during significant emergencies impacting the state.

In February 2021, he traveled to Cancun, Mexico, during a severe winter storm affecting the state. In July 2020, according to a report by The Washington Post citing anonymous sources, he visited Jamaica over the Fourth of July holiday amid the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Later, in July 2025, The Texas Tribune reported that Cruz returned home from a family vacation in Greece following deadly flash floods in Texas that same month. Forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS) have warned that a large portion of Texas could be affected this weekend by 'dangerously cold temperatures.'

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.