Donald Trump Jr. came to the defense of under-fire Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after he admitted flying to Cancun while Texas dealt with power outages, dwindling water supplies and freezing temperatures.
The eldest son of former President Donald Trump hit out at those trying to "cancel" Cruz after he traveled to the Mexican city with his family, only to return on Thursday.
Cruz said he left Texas to "be a good dad" after his daughters asked to go on a trip with friends when school was canceled.
"In the grand scheme of things, he's a senator. He doesn't manage crises in states," Trump Jr. said in a video posted video-sharing app Rumble. "That's a governor's job. He's a federal employee, they mostly vote on things.
"That they are spending more time focusing on this than they are, you know, governors just flagrantly disregarding their executive orders, shutting down states, etc. Shows you how ridiculous things are."
Who wants to tell him that the Governor of Texas is a Republican? https://t.co/DkwA6YM7G0
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) February 19, 2021
The Claim
While sharing the video on Twitter, Trump Jr. attacked the "hypocrisy of those trying to cancel Ted Cruz who have been totally silent on their Democrat Governor's incompetence."
The tweet was widely mocked and criticized by social media users, claiming that Trump Jr. is suggesting that the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is a Democrat and the blame for the crisis lies with him.
Author and former Newsweek writer Kurt Eichenwald tweeted: "Hey, RepublicanGovernor of Texas @GregAbbott_TX—@DonaldJTrumpJr is calling you both a democrat and an incompetent. Comment? Or are you just going to say nothing, and leave it that don is as dumb as his dad?"
Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student-turned-gun-control-activist David Hogg tweeted: "#MyDemocraticGovernor is @gretchenwhitmer, but I fear you have a surprise coming about Greg Abbott."
Brittney Cottingham, assistant news director for Texas-based news channels KFDX/KJTL, added: "It's been seven hours and Donald Trump, Jr. hasn't corrected this tweet. To clarify: Ted Cruz is a senator from Texas where the governor, named Greg Abbott, is a Republican."
The Facts
While defending Cruz, Trump Jr. never mentions Abbott by name in the tweet or the video he posted.
In the clip, Trump Jr. appears to be referencing the Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom when mentioning governors "flagrantly disregarding their executive orders."
In November 2020, Newsom apologized after he was found to have attended a birthday dinner with at least a dozen people from multiple households on November 6 in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.
A few hours before posting the video, Trump Jr. sent another tweet defending Cruz while attacking New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, another Democrat, amid claims he covered up the true number of COVID deaths in the state's nursing homes.
"How is it possible that blue check Twitter is spending more time trying to destroy Ted Cruz taking a family trip but refuses to focus on Gov Cuomo's lies, coverups, and strong arm tactics that killed thousands?," Trump Jr. tweeted.
The Ruling
False.
Trump Jr. made no direct mention of Abbott being a Democrat. He never even names Abbott in the video or tweets, but he does directly name Cuomo and makes reference to Newsom.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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