March 21, 2022
-Daily Mail
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) got into a confrontation with employees of a Montana airport which grew so heated that law enforcement had to get involved, a new video showed on Sunday.
Cruz was spotted at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport shortly after noon on Sunday, apparently irritated by missing his flight, according to the Reddit user who first shared the short clip.
The user who posted the video claimed Cruz said some form of ‘Do you know who I am?’
A representative for the airport confirmed to DailyMail.com that a ‘frustrated’ Cruz had missed the check-in window for his flight, and that re-booking options were ‘limited out of Bozeman due to Spring Break.’
Cruz managed to rebook and depart later that evening, Bozeman airport deputy director Scott Humphrey said.
It’s not clear what Cruz or the airport employees were saying in the short clip. The Texas Republican had been wearing a mask, in compliance with federal COVID-19 guidelines.
The 23-second video, which appears to be taken from behind the employee desk of the main airport foyer, shows Cruz vigorously nodding his head in visible annoyance. His mouth is covered by a mask that says ‘Come and take it’ in reference to the Second Amendment.
He’s shown to be facing off with two female employees in the first half of the clip. They’re then replaced by a single male law enforcement officer.
Bozeman’s deputy director told DailyMail.com that the officer speaking with Cruz had no idea who he was until after the incident was over.
‘One of our Public Safety Officers (PSO) was in the ticket lobby and was asked to assist with a frustrated passenger at the United ticket counter (which is not unusual). The passenger had missed the check-in window for his flight and re-booking options were limited out of Bozeman due to Spring Break,’ Humphrey said.
‘Once travel options were explained to the passenger, he was rebooked and departed Bozeman later that evening. Our PSO didn’t realize he was dealing with Senator Cruz until after the fact. If you need more information, please contact United Airlines.’
The lawmaker was due back in Washington on Monday for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s multi-day confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Cruz has yet to comment on the incident. DailyMail.com has reached out to his office for comment.
It’s not clear why the senator was in Bozeman for the weekend, but Raw Story, which first reported on the video, noted that the city frequently plays host to GOP fundraisers and other events.
Cruz was ridiculed online after the incident, which was compared to his infamous attempt to escape to Cancun, Mexico while millions of his constituents in Texas were stuck without electricity amid historic low winter temperatures.
The senator and his wife Heidi were seen boarding a flight to the tropical destination in February of last year, during Texas’ deadly power crisis.
The swift and severe backlash prompted Cruz to release a statement claiming he flew to Mexico to be a ‘good dad’ to his daughters and would be returning the next day — though it’s not clear if he intended to stay longer.
‘Ted Cruz is flipping out in a Montana airport, probably because he’s not in Cancun’s more spacious, warm airport,’ journalist and political commentator Grant Stern quipped on Twitter Monday.
Sports commentator Keith Olbermann bashed Cruz for being ‘abusive’ to airport staff.
‘So @TedCruz was apparently so out-of-control abusive to airline staff at the airport in Bozeman, Montana, that law enforcement had to get involved,’ Olbermann said on Twitter.
Referencing Cruz’s brief Cancun getaway, he added: ‘It must’ve been snowing.’
But those were not the only times the Texas senator made headlines related to the airline industry.
Earlier this year Cruz was mocked for a bizarre claim that his opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates earned him ‘hugs’ from airplane staff and even captains every time he flew somewhere.
‘Almost without exception, every time I’m on an airplane, either the captain or a flight attendant will come up to me, will hug me and say, “Thank you for fighting for us”,’ the Republican lawmaker said on March 9.
It’s not clear if he got any hugs on his evening flight from Montana to Washington on Sunday.
