Ted Cruz says he’s ‘trying to get the power up’ in Texas after controversial Cancun trip

Ted Cruz said he’s “continuing to work for Texas” in his first television interview since fleeing his freezing state for the warmer climes of Mexico’s Cancun.

“Now I’m headed back to Texas and back, continuing to work, to try to get the power on, what’s happening in Texas in unacceptable and a lot of Texans are hurting,” Mr Cruz said in an interview with NBC from an airport in southeast Mexico.

He added: “Texas is going through horrific storms and millions of Texans have lost power and lost heat and have been hurting. Our family was among the, we had no heat and no power. Yesterday my daughters asked if they could take a trip with some friends, and Heidi and I agreed, so I flew down with them last night, dropped them off here and now I’m headed back to Texas.”

The senator, who carried a big bag and was reportedly booked to stay in Mexico through Saturday, returned to the US on Thursday as backlash mounted and Texas Democrats called on him to resign.

While a source close to Mr Cruz told Politico that he always intended to return on Thursday, NBC News reported that Mr Cruz booked his flight back to Texas at 6am on Thursday morning.

Mr Cruz’s comments in his first televised interview reflect an earlier statement that said he was trying to be a “good dad” to his daughters.

“With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends,” the statement reads. “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”

Two days earlier, however, Mr Cruz urged his constituents to “just stay home” on a local radio show.

"I was speaking this weekend with a meteorologist expert who was saying (that with) the combination of these two storms, we could see 100 people lose their lives this week in Texas,” the Republican senator said on Monday on The Joe Pags Show. “So, don’t risk it. Keep your family safe, and just stay home and hug your kids."