We live in politically charged times and no seemingly mundane issue has become so politically charged as whether to wear a face mask in public. Now Ted Cruz finds himself surrounded in controversy and the spotlight of an American Airlines investigation after he was photographed on a flight without a mask.
Ted Cruz Face Mask Controversy Leads To American Airlines Investigation
I had hoped President Trump’s decision to wear a mask during his recent visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center would put this issue to bed, but an internet flurry erupted yesterday when it was revealed that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R – TX) may not have been wearing his mask while flying American Airlines on Sunday.
The following “smoking gun” was posted with caption:
“Captured today at 10:45am — @TedCruz on a commercial flight, refusing to wear a mask.”
Captured today at 10:45am — @TedCruz on a commercial flight, refusing to wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/h8DM7J4CMi
— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020
Indeed, the Senator has his mask off…but he is also drinking coffee.
Someone else posted a photo with his mask on:
SPOTTED: Ted Cruz wearing a mask on a plane when he isn’t drinking coffee https://t.co/ma6GVbqIBo pic.twitter.com/7bI8tSGeL8
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 13, 2020
Small problem: he’s wearing the same outfit, but this is a different aircraft. Notice the armrests and air nozzles…
But the pictures do show, at least at one point in history, he did not wear a mask when he was drinking coffee and wore a mask when he was not. AA mask policy does not require a mask while drinking onboard. A Cruz spokesperson told The Hill that this was a connecting flight on the same day, proving Cruz plays by the rules onboard.
Apparently Cruz also did not wear a mask in the gate area:
For those trying to argue that he was drinking, it’s not hard to have a mask on and undo one side to take a sip then put it back on. Most people take their time drinking coffee.
Also, here’s a photo of him sitting outside the gate: pic.twitter.com/C7cbm3pQH0
— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020
Which wouldn’t be the first time:
“isn’t everyone supposed to be wearing masks including Senators?” https://t.co/OZi4oaeJJQ
From DCA’s website: “face coverings are required for everyone at Reagan National Airport” pic.twitter.com/GXOu9VX86N
— PoPville (@PoPville) June 12, 2020
(He like that outfit, doesn’t he…?)
A Cruz spokesperson added:
“To help promote safety, Senator Cruz wears a mask when traveling, and practices social distancing where possible. Consistent with airline policy, he temporarily removes the mask while eating or drinking.”
A spokesperson for American Airlines said:
“For the well-being of our customers and team members, we require face coverings to be worn onboard, and we expect our customers to comply with our policies when they choose to travel with us. As we do in all instances like these, we reviewed the details of the matter, and while our policy does not apply while eating or drinking, we have reached out to Sen. Cruz to affirm the importance of this policy as part of our commitment to protecting the health and safety of the traveling public.”
Really? How did you “review” the matter? CCTV? Passenger witnesses? An investigation over a passenger who was drinking coffee without a mask on?
Look, Ted: wear the darn mask. I hate it too, but I suck it up and wear it when I’m out and about. You don’t have to wear it while sipping coffee, but what’s your excuse for the gate area?
Still, I find our priorities curious. With the United States crumbling before our eyes, do we seriously have nothing better to do than to speculate about the extent to which a man wore a mask? I guess the answer is yes judging by this post and the interest the issue has generated…
On A Personal Note
I met Ted Cruz and his wife Heidi while attending a Kentucky Derby afterparty in 2016. This was around the height of the “Lying Ted” phase of Trump’s campaign and earlier that same day Cruz had dropped out of the race. He was visibly shaken…you could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. We had a nice conversation…he seems to be a decent guy who I’ve met on other occasions as well.
What does that matter? Whether Democrat or Republican, I tend to like people I have met and who have been kind. Sharing an elevator with then-Senator Barack Obama in 2005 endeared me to him. Same with meeting Joe Biden (and Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch and Chuck Grassley) during the confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts in 2005.
I’m not just name-dropping here, I’m just much more willing to cut Cruz some slack because he proved himself to be gracious personally. It has nothing to do with his politics and everything to do with his kindness.
That may not be a reason to vote for someone, but it is a reason to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’ll give Cruz the benefit of the doubt here. But please Ted, just put the mask on.
Hi Matthew! Do you mean then Senator Obama in 2005 as opposed to 2015? 🙂
Typo: Obama wasn’t a Senator in 2015, he was POTUS.
2005. My bad.
So what !! Trump 2020
Look, the guy is not coughing, sneezing and from the pictures there is nobody seating next to him. What is bad about it? I also wear mask when I am around people but you cannot wear mask 24/7. You need to breathe. It gets moisture and you need to get some fresh air. You also need to drink and eat. I see that most people wear masks when shopping, when indoors around people but not all the time. I was in a big public park over the weekend. It was 95F. I saw some people wearing masks where there was nobody around them within 100ft. I know it is a choice but I don’t feel I need to wear a mask in an open park if the closest person to me is 100ft away.
Its this type of attitude that has resulted in the US being the global center for this pandemic
Note – Ted Cruz was not photographed in an open park…it was in a contained airplane cabin
His kindness? Give me a break. Just because he didn’t have it in him to be impolite to a single white male individual at a Kentucky Derby party doesn’t mean we overlook the gaslighting, the countless attacks on our civil society and the economy or any of the numerous awful actions he has taken in the public eye.
Are you really this naive?
I can say the same thing for many on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Yes, I am more likely to give kind people the benefit of the doubt. And I’ve been around people–politicians, celebrities, leaders–who were not kind, and I am much less likely to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Wow, Cruz looks a lifetime older after 4 years…
LOL indeed he does.
He has not aged well.
Now that you mention it – he looks so much younger and less grey in the mask less photo (drinking coffee) vs the photo with the mask and the photo in the terminal last June.
I would love to see the meta data on the photo – apparently the Twitter poster got the coffee photo when a “friend of a friend” sent it to him. Not that someone would ever post something just so they could try to trend on twitter.
I think it sends the wrong message: “If he’s not wearing one, then there’s no need for me to “. He should setting the standard by scrupulously adhering to the mask regime.
I can understand that people are feeling sceptical and cynical…the flip-flopping about the need for masks has been going on the months (…and the source of the conflicting and contradictory information…the WHO )
Yes, even though there is still debate over how effective a mask is, with the majority saying that is helpful and the cost of wearing a mask (minor discomfort for most healthy individuals) so low, we should all just wear one until we turn the corner from this crazy pandemic.
Ted Cruz is scum. I hope the little rotter gets Covid and dies on the Senate floor.
I second that !!!!
Oh, it’s ok to wish death on people you disagree with now? Oh, wait, only if their wokeness level is unacceptable? Too bad, because I was going to wish the same outcome for you and all the other SJW fascists.
Famous left wing, AOC-lovin, “libtard” Lindsey Graham – “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you,”
Ironic you call these poster fascists given your Trump worship.
Thank you!!
Your a real Moron
Looks like Ted has put on some of that Covid weight.
Few thoughts –
(1) This “Hosseh” person on Twitter is clearly looking to pick a fight when he says that Cruz “refused” to wear a mask – there is not evidence of him refusing to wear a mask in that instance, nor refusing in general. This guy is clearly a liberal looking for cheap fame, and judging from his name is also an Islamic.
(2) The Senator appears to be adequately social distanced in the gate areas.
(3) Matthew, when you say “I’m not just name-dropping here,” you realize you are totally name dropping here, right?
Just trying to show I like kind people on a bipartisan basis, Andy K.
Bashing a conservative politician is always handy for a slow news day in the miles & points blog world. You can’t even get away from people’s petty politics in the travel world anymore.
Please…replace “conservative politician” with “liberal politician”, “actor”, “musician”, “celebrity”, etc.
This is a TMZ-type post, not a drudge vs msnbc post. So polarized…
Ted Cruz, nice and gracious guy? Matthew you’re on the Kool Aid. Trump berates the guy’s (ugly per Trump) wife, father, etc and what does this gracious, nice guy do? Throw both under the bus and can’t kiss Trump’s ass enough. Trump enablers are revolting, I guess you don’t have much respect for women or his wife since you consider him to be kind and gracious. How would you feel if he called your wife ugly? Just curious.
Tony, I have no respect for the vanquishment of morality for power. But a weak person can still be a kind person.
In Matthew’s defense, this post would have been written if it were Sen. Schumer, Rep. Pelosi, or Sen. Cruz. Sen. Cruz knows he will be criticized for anything he does in public, this is the way of the world and the job he holds and he knows it and he knew it when he decided not to wear a mask. He made the story, not Matthew or anyone else.
But it’s not Schumer or Pelosi. Perhaps because they are better people who don’t put others at risk. I was on two flights yesterday and drank two bottles of water while still wearing my mask. It wasn’t hard to lift the mask and take a drink without exhaling, then slip the mask back in place. There are people (perhaps not Cruz but who knows) who nurse a drink simply to get around the mask mandate.
Obviously
Ted Cruz think he is special and being exempt from COVID-19
We shall see!
The only investigation should be about why a Dem operative is stalking Cruz on a plane and taking pictures of other passengers, against the airlines policy. You are allowed to remove the mask when eating or drinking, full stop. There was another picture of him with his mask on the plane when he wasn’t drinking his coffee. Leftist outrage culture is out of control.
See you at the polls! Can’t wait – hint, it’s not going to go well for y’all.
The self-appointed Mask Police are the scum of the earth. These people would have ratted out Anne Frank.
Only a moron could believe a 50-cent mask from Walmart is filtering anything out of an asymptomatic person’s breath, but we’ve obviously been a country full of morons for a while now.
How is it possible that Covid-19 could be spread via microscopic particles exhaled by an asymptomatic person but spitting into a container doesn’t yield a high-enough viral load to test for the damn virus?
Morons.
This microscopic analysis of a politician’s every move, coupled with the social media response and the replies to Matthew’s post explains why more capable people who could do great things do not want to run for public office.
Could any of us withstand this type of constant, 24X7 probing of your every move? Would all of us pass the test of never doing anything that might offend or be such that it can be twisted? Would your family be supportive of stepping into this quagmire called politics today?
I couldn’t pass the test and my family would not stand for it. Who would?