Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, trolled California Gov. Gavin Newsom for escaping from California while some residents remained trapped in snow-covered mountain communities.
It's unclear to where Newsom traveled, however the governor apparently left California on Wednesday after a visit to the Diablo Canyon power plant in Avila Beach, the Washington Examiner reported.
Also on that day, the governor proclaimed a state of emergency to support disaster response and relief in 13 counties.
"Cancun is nice this time of year. [two palm tree emojis]," Cruz wrote Sunday afternoon while retweeting Townhall story headlined "Newsom Flees California as Hundreds Remain Trapped In Snow."
Newsom's trip out of state did not go unnoticed within the state.
"Californians are trapped in their homes without power. More storms are on the way. And Governor Newsom has just left the state for 'personal travel,'" Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., tweeted on Thursday.
"May not have been the best timing for Newsom to go out of state on personal travel," San Francisco Chronicle columnist Emily Hoeven tweeted Friday with a story and photo showing a stranded resident shoveling snow off the roof of his car.
Despite Newsom's declaration on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the California National Guard had failed to arrive in the areas as of Saturday.
"Desperate San Bernardino County residents were wondering when National Guard troops would arrive. Residents said hundreds of people have recently lined up for food, dog food, and firewood at community distribution events. Many of them left empty-handed," the Times reported.
On Sunday, Newsom met with emergency response officials at the State Operations Center and received an update on winter storms and the state's work to support disaster response and relief efforts, according to a release from the governor's office.
This was not the first time Newsom has been criticized for his travel. In July, he vacationed in Montana despite California's ban on state-funded travel to the Treasure State.
Montana is among 22 states to which California, citing policies it deems discriminatory to LGBTQ people, has banned state-funded and state-sponsored travel.
He also failed to attend a 2021 U.N. climate conference in Scotland and disappeared from public view for nearly two weeks, with little word on where he was or what he had been doing.
After resurfacing, Newsom said that he abruptly dropped plans to attend the climate conference so that he could spend Halloween with his children.
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