'Grift first': Ted Cruz mocked for podcasting as millions of Texans lose power

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz caught flak Monday as critics noted he recorded five podcasts in the last week as millions lost power in Texas due to flooding from Hurricane Beryl.

Cruz on Monday recorded "Kamala Rises: Democrat Panic over Biden Reaches Fever Pitch" for his podcast, "Verdict with Ted Cruz."

Monday's episode came as between 2 million and 3 million homes and businesses were without power in East Texas. Beryl, since downgraded to a tropical storm, has deluged the area with 3 to 8 inches of flooding rain and up to 15 inches in some areas.

About one in five electricity customers in the state lost power by noon Monday, according to The New York Times, with most outages stemming from one utility in and around Houston.

In his latest episode released Monday Cruz mentions in the podcast he was recording Sunday night in Houston as the hurricane prepared to make landfall.

"Let me say first of all, everyone in Texas, stay safe," he said, warning Texans to avoid driving into deceptively-deep water.

"Keep your family safe, our prayers are going to be with everyone on the Gulf Coast tonight," he added.

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He then talked about how to properly grill a burger on the Fourth of July, as well as the spreading "chaos" in the Democratic Party and "damage control" in the White House. He spent much of the air time talking about Vice President Kamala Harris's chances to take the top of the Democratic ticket.

The timing of Cruz's podcast didn't go unnoticed, with critics even calling him a grifter.

"5 million Texans are currently without power," wrote @SawyerHackett on X. "Good thing Ted Cruz had time to record 5 podcasts in the last 7 days alone."

@DenisonBarbs added: "Gotta keep that money coming in for Ted. Grift first people’s lives second!"

"Does he ever do his job in the Senate? Spend time with his family?" asked @LisaMikol3369.

"He didn’t lose power [smiling face with open mouth and tightly-closed eyes emoji]," chided @embeessem.

At least he didn't take off to Cancun," wrote @smanson1961.

"Must have power in Cancun," said @jimvk77.

The latter posts referenced a notorious trip Cruz took to Cancun in 2021.

The commentary comes as the state's Republican Gov. Greg Abbott faced similar criticism. Abbott was nowhere to be found, as he was on a nine-day trip across South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

According to The Daily Beast, Abbott's trip was intended to “drive forward progress in industries critical to the future of the global economy.” It began Friday, by which time it was apparent the hurricane would hit the eastern part of the state on Monday, causing a hazardous storm surge, blackouts that cut off power to millions, and two reported deaths in the Houston area.