Sen. Ted Cruz makes Cancun joke during conservative convention

Texans are in recovery mode following the deadly freeze that gripped the state last week and Senator Ted Cruz is already cracking jokes about his controversial trip to Cancun amid the crisis.

Cruz joined speakers like former President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. in Orlando at the Conservative Political Action Conference, hosted by the American Conservative Union, on Friday. Cruz was on stage to discuss “Bill of Rights, Liberty and Cancel Culture,” according to the morning’s agenda.

Calls for Cruz’s resignation were amplified in January following his role in leading a group of lawmakers objecting the certification of electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania. The day ended in a Pro-Trump mob breaching the U.S. Capitol. The riot left five dead and forced congressional members into hiding. The ire grew last week, as Texans froze in their home and learned Cruz hopped a plane to Cancun. He later blamed the trip to Mexico on his daughters wanting to getaway for the weekend. Cruz returned to controversy in the U.S. later that day after the news broke.

He used the conservative platform to joke about the jaunt Friday, according to Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel.

“Ted Cruz, owning it: ‘Orlando is AWESOME! It’s not as nice as Cancun, but it’s nice,'” the senator said, according to Weigel’s tweets.

Cruz, who has taken a liking to comparing the political climate to movies lately, used the opportunity to insert a “Star Wars” reference and further support Texas native Gina Carano. Carano, who played Rebel Alliance soldier Cara Dune on Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” was fired earlier this month after many online pushed for LucasFilm to #FireGinaCarano after she published a now-deleted social media post likening the Holocaust to the current political climate.

“‘This is the rebel alliance,’ says Cruz. ‘Vader and the emperor – and let’s be clear, they’re not your father – are terrified of the rebels that are here. And I’m telling ya, Gina Carano stands with us,'” Weigel’s dispatch of the conversation said.