Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Senator John McCain, shared her sympathies with the two daughters of Senator Ted Cruz after Houston police responded to his home over a "family matter" late Tuesday night.
"There's a special hell being a teenage girl when your Dad is a famous (Republican) politician and you're in middle/high school -and I did it before social media and before journalists would target minors and report on them," McCain tweeted on Wednesday. "Leave the entire Cruz family alone & just send prayers."
Just before 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the Houston Police Department received reports of a 14-year-old with self-inflected wounds on their arms at the River Oaks property where Cruz lives with his wife, Heidi, and two daughters, who are aged 11 and 14.
The teen was not identified by authorities, nor could police say whether the 911 call involved a member of Cruz's family, but officials did say the teen was taken to the hospital. A statement from the office of the Texas Republican said that the incident was a "family matter" and that the senator's daughter was "okay."
"There were no serious injuries. The family requests the media respect their daughter's privacy at this time," the statement read.
There’s a special hell being a teenage girl when your Dad is a famous (Republican) politician and you’re in middle/high school -and I did it before social media and before journalists would target minors and report on them.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) December 7, 2022
Leave the entire Cruz family alone & just send prayers.
McCain, the eldest of the four children of John and Cindy McCain, has lived much of her life in the public spotlight. Her father represented Arizona in the House before she was born, and when she was two years old, he was elected to the Senate—a position he served for more than three decades. When she was just 11 years old, McCain made her first appearance at the Republican National Convention in 1996.
McCain isn't the only high-profile figure who has asked the public to respect the privacy of the Cruz family in light of the incident. Monica Lewinsky, an anti-bullying advocate, urged people to "click with compassion," while author John Pavolitz asked people not to attach their "disgust at Ted Cruz" to the struggles of the unidentified teen.
"The internet, social media, bullying, COVID and the mental health aspects of all of it have made being a teenager tougher than ever," actor Billy Baldwin tweeted.
"I disagree with him on everything but wish his family peace," political consultant Fred Wellman said of the senator.
Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, a Democrat, also empathized with Cruz, sending blessings from his family to the senator's own.
"As the father of three young children, I hope folks will show respect and understanding for the family's pain and privacy. Whatever your perspective, this is a time for grace not viciousness," Castro tweeted.
Newsweek reached out to Cruz for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
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