Congressman Matt Gaetz doubles down on his defense of Ted Cruz's Cancún vacation
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- Rep. Matt Gaetz has accused the media of being "biased" in their reporting of Ted Cruz's Cancún trip.
- Gaetz said the news media were more concerned about the trip than "caravans going through Mexico."
- The congressman previously said that Cruz shouldn't have apologized for his vacation.
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Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Saturday accused the media of being "biased" in their reporting of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's vacation to Cancún, Mexico.
Gaetz, who is an outspoken ally of former President Donald Trump, was speaking on the third day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida when he made the comments.
"Now, speaking of all this bias, it was awful the way the media treated Ted Cruz," Gaetz said, according to The Independent.
"I mean the left and the media were more worried about Ted Cruz going to Mexico to spend his own money, then they are about the caravans going through Mexico to take ours," he added, as applause erupted in the crowd.
Cruz has been facing calls to resign after he was caught flying to Cancún last week to stay at a luxury five-star resort with his family amid a catastrophic winter storm that left more than 20 people dead in Texas.
This is not the first time Gaetz has defended Cruz over his trip to Mexico.
Shortly after the Texas senator issued his apology, Gaetz tweeted: "Ted Cruz should not have apologized." He did not elaborate on the assertion.
According to a YouGov poll published this week, Cruz's approval rating among Republicans has dropped by more than 20 percent.
Cruz has since apologized for the trip and told reporters he regretted his decision. "It was obviously a mistake," he said last week. "In hindsight, I wouldn't have done it."
However, earlier this week, the Texas senator accused the media of its coverage of his Mexican-vacation scandal, saying it was "obsessed" with him because it is suffering from "Trump withdrawal."
—Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 19, 2021
Gaetz has been serving Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017. He's been called "one of the most enthusiastic defenders of President Trump on cable news" and a "proud Trump protégé."
Trump himself is expected to speak at CPAC, in what will be his first public appearance since leaving the White House.