Donald Trump Jr. is lashing out at President Joe Biden for taking a “tropical vacation” after a deadly winter storm sacked large parts of the country.
In a tweet on Friday, Trump compared the supposed lack of ire over Biden’s family vacation in the Caribbean to the backlash that Republican Senator Ted Cruz received after fleeing Texas for Cancun, Mexico, amid a deadly winter storm and widespread blackouts in his home state in February 2021.
“Where is the outrage about Joe Biden going on a nice tropical vacation while the country suffers through a ‘polar vortex bomb cyclone?'” Trump tweeted. “Remember what they did to Ted Cruz? A president can actually do something about this stuff that a senator can’t and yet total silence? WTF?”
Where is the outrage about Joe Biden going on a nice tropical vacation while the country suffers through a “polar vortex bomb cyclone?” Remember what they did to Ted Cruz? A president can actually do something about this stuff that a senator can’t and yet total silence? WTF?
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 31, 2022
Although Trump said that Biden was vacationing “while” the bomb cyclone was happening, the president actually departed for the U.S. Virgin Islands after the weather event had dissipated. However, some storm-battered areas like Buffalo, New York, are continuing to deal with the aftermath.
Anna Moneymaker; Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Despite his vacation, the White House disputes Trump’s suggestion that Biden is refusing “do something about this stuff,” insisting that the president is continuing to work and monitor the situation while he is in St. Croix.
“No matter where the President is, he is working,” a White House spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement this week. “The President will continue to closely monitor updates and will remain in close touch with staff over the New Year.”
Trump’s suggestion that Biden has received little or no criticism for taking his vacation is false. A number of prominent conservatives, including Cruz, have signaled their disapproval of the trip since Biden and his family left Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
“MASSIVE winter storms paralyzed the country and Biden was taking a beach vacation in the Caribbean,” Republican Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas tweeted on Wednesday. “Where was the media to demand he return to the White House to work? Did anyone even notice he was gone?”
MASSIVE winter storms paralyzed the country and Biden was taking a beach vacation in the Caribbean. Where was the media to demand he return to the White House to work? Did anyone even notice he was gone?
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) December 28, 2022
“Where is the media outrage over Joe Biden abandoning his country during a historic blizzard to vacation on a beach in St. Croix?” tweeted conservative author and self-proclaimed “alpha male” Nick Adams.
Where is the media outrage over Joe Biden abandoning his country during a historic blizzard to vacation on a beach in St. Croix?
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) December 28, 2022
Former Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee described Biden’s trip as evidence that the president “doesn’t give a rip what’s happening to the American public” during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Thursday.
“I mean, he could have at least filled up Air Force One with a bunch of people from Buffalo, New York, and taken them down to the U.S. Virgin Islands for some time in the sun,” Huckabee said. “That would have been nice.”
Criticism of Biden’s trip did not come exclusively from conservatives. Progressive Democrat Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and congressional candidate, described the trip as “unacceptable” while comparing it to Cruz’s 2021 excursion.
“If you were (rightfully) outraged that Senator Ted Cruz went to Cancún while Texans froze to death last year, you should be outraged that President Biden went on vacation while Americans froze to death in Buffalo this past week,” Turner tweeted on Thursday. “Both are unacceptable.”
If you were (rightfully) outraged that Senator Ted Cruz went to Cancún while Texans froze to death last year, you should be outraged that President Biden went on vacation while Americans froze to death in Buffalo this past week. Both are unacceptable.
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) December 30, 2022
Some also criticized Biden for leaving the White House while there was uncertainty at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the legal status of the Title 42 immigration policy, which the Supreme Court temporarily extended just after Biden departed.
“Where is @POTUS during this crisis?” Republican Representative Jim Banks of Indiana tweeted before the ruling was made on Tuesday. “Vacationing in St. Croix.”
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for additional comment.
