Ted Cruz seen on flight to California ahead of winter storm in Texas
Cruz was seen flying to California as Texas prepared for a winter storm, and his office said he would return before it arrived.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The reporting is attributed to USA TODAY, an established national newsroom, and the page identifies the authors and the article’s original publication. Yahoo News is carrying that work rather than presenting it as its own reporting.
- Source type — An established national news organization produced the reporting.
- Author attribution — The USA TODAY authors and contributing reporter are identified.
- Transparency — The page identifies USA TODAY as the article’s original publisher.
The article attributes Cruz’s explanation to his office, distinguishes the unconfirmed destination claim from verified details, and cites weather forecasters. It gives useful context from earlier trips but does not include a response from the person who posted the photo or extensive detail about the scheduled work.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The story includes Cruz’s office explanation and checks a claim about the flight’s destination, along with weather forecasts and relevant past context. It offers limited detail about the work trip or the poster’s perspective.
- Counterarguments presented — Cruz’s office says the trip was scheduled in advance and that he would return before the storm.
- Source diversity — The article draws on the senator’s office, the photo poster, the National Weather Service and AccuWeather.
- Omitted context — The planned work and its purpose are not described in detail.
- Loaded language — The reporting uses restrained language, though it juxtaposes the trip with a prior storm-related controversy.
The article reports the flight, Cruz’s office explanation and relevant past travel in mostly factual language. The comparison with the 2021 trip adds scrutiny, but the article does not clearly endorse a political position.
- Language tone — Mostly neutral, descriptive wording.
- Framing — The past Cancún trip supplies critical context, while the office’s explanation is also included.
- Source selection — The article uses Cruz’s office, the photo poster and weather sources.
Republished with credit
Republished from USA Today, with credit to the original publisher.
21 stories · 79–81 · updated Oct 11, 2026
This is USA Today's own score, and this article is credited to USA Today. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
Ted Cruz was seen flying from Texas to California as Texas prepared for a major winter storm. His office said the work trip had been scheduled weeks earlier and that he would return before the storm arrived.
A political strategist posted a photo of Cruz on a Jan. 20 flight to Southern California. Cruz’s office told USA TODAY that the trip was pre-planned work travel and that he would be back in Texas before the storm arrived. The post claimed the flight was headed to Laguna Beach, but the article noted the town has no airport and said USA TODAY had asked the strategist to clarify the destination.
The article compared the trip with Cruz’s 2021 travel to Cancún during a winter storm, which he later called a mistake, and noted that he returned from a pre-planned Greece vacation when severe floods hit Texas in 2025. Forecasters expected a major storm to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the country later that week.
Community verdict
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Senator from Texas whose California work trip is reported as a winter storm approaches
Part of a bigger story
24 OUTLETSOutlets report that Ted Cruz traveled to California on a planned work trip before a forecast winter storm in Texas and returned before it arrived. His office said the trip had been scheduled in advance. Left-leaning outlets connect the trip and Cruz’s return post to criticism of his earlier travel during Texas emergencies. Center outlets pair the travel explanation and return with online backlash and comparisons to past trips. Right-leaning outlets emphasize criticism of his travel and his response, while also reporting the work-trip explanation and return.
- ARTICLES
- 42
- OUTLETS
- 24
- AVG CRED
- 66
- Attack of the Fanboy · Ted Cruz just tried to call out a Democratic governor for doing what he famously did in 2021, it backfired spectacularly
- RadarOnline · Ted Cruz Roasted for Jetting to California Before Storm Hits Texas
- New York Post · Sen. Ted Cruz has snarky response after facing backlash for traveling ahead of disastrous winter storm
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