News traveled fast this morning that yet another one of Donald Trump’s GOP cronies has essentially spit in the face of every healthcare and medical professional from coast to coast.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was caught red-handed defying the mask mandate put into place this week by American Airlines to help protect their passengers as well as their employees when a fellow passenger on the coach flight snapped a picture of the Republican senator without a face covering in sight.
“Captured today at 10:45am — @TedCruz on a commercial flight, refusing to wear a mask,” the image was captioned:
Captured today at 10:45am — @TedCruz on a commercial flight, refusing to wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/h8DM7J4CMi
— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020
“This was on an American Airlines flight — their policy clearly states that masks should be worn on the flight,” Hosseh Enad, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee operative, the author of the tweet and individual who captured the photo of Cruz added.
For those asking, this was on an @AmericanAir flight — their policy clearly states that masks should be worn on the flight. pic.twitter.com/CyG1GG5H8n
— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020
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Rightfully so, the Trump-loving senator has been all the buzz in the news today, and not in a flattering way.
A spokesperson for Cruz was quick to jump on the front lines with a statement that was meant to excuse the senator’s behavior on the flight, claiming that Ted was not wearing his mask at the time the image was captured because he was drinking a cup of coffee — which the airline says is allowed, provided that the face-covering is put back on immediately.
However, not only does the spokesperson’s excuse seem to be garbage:
I just confirmed that Ted Cruz went the entire one-hour-eight-minute flight from Houston to Dallas and never put on his mask. so he wasn’t just drinking coffee for a minute.
— John Aravosis 🇺🇸🇬🇷🏳️🌈 (@aravosis) July 13, 2020
It also appears that the statement wasn’t enough to satisfy the airlines.
Or, at least, it wasn’t enough to satisfy the concerned and at-risk people who utilize the airlines, which may have spurred them to respond.
But either way, American Airlines has responded to this morning’s tweet and it may very well mean trouble for Mr. Cruz.
“We are committed to protecting the health and safety of all those who fly with us, and we are reviewing the details of this matter,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement to The Hill.
They also reiterated this statement to concerned passengers:
We are committed to protecting the health and safety of all customers, and we are reviewing the details of this matter.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) July 13, 2020
While it’s still up in the air as to what will come out of the airlines “review,” it at least looks as though Cruz will possibly be held accountable for quite literally risking the lives of an entire flight.
And while it may be a small win in the scheme of things, it’s a win all the same.
Featured image via Flick/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
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