Texas Gov. Abbott slammed for Asia tour during Hurricane Beryl
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been slammed for carrying on with his business trip to Asia while Hurricane Beryl batters his state. Monday morning, Hurricane Beryl came on shore as a category 1 storm, dumping at least 10 inches of water on Houston.
With winds stronger than 90 mph, as many as 2.7 million people in the great Houston area were left without power and two people have been killed. But Abbott was nowhere to be seen as emergency responders raced to save lives.
He was bone dry seven thousand miles away rubbing shoulders with Korean businessmen and dignitaries in Taiwan as part of the trip to boost Texas's 'relations' with Asia. '#AsianAbbott is taking "leadership" cues from #CancunCruz. And this trip is the ABSOLUTE LEAST productive use of OUR TAX DOLLARS for Texas,' tweeted @HKR30754663.
'Asia Abbott is a comparison to the nickname given to US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in 2021. He notoriously fled the Lone Star State during the worst freeze in state history that killed over 700 people state wide.
Cruz was then called 'Cancun Cruz.' Unlike Cruz, Abbott was on state business abroad. He left Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in charge as state preparations for Beryl began last week.
Abbott's has already made stops in South Korea and Taiwan, and had planned to also visit Japan. As 2.7 million Texans were left without power due to massive flooding, many were wondering why Abbott had decided to carry on with a business trip to Asia instead of staying in Austin to direct the emergency response to Beryl.
'Read the room,' one social media user responded to Abbott's posts about his trips. Many in the Houston area were stuck at home without power Monday.
'My power went out in Galveston in the middle of the night and I’m sure it will be out for days while we try to ride out the storm in 90+ degree heat and 100% humidity, but I’m glad you’re having a nice vacation,' @mollywwid tweeted. The mayor of Houston said he too was suffering through no having no power and air conditioning along with millions of others in +90 degree heat and sweltering humidity.
'I do not have power. We're all living this together. We're all in this together.' At least two people died as a result of the storm, officials confirmed. Abbott's office did not immediately respond to the timing of his trip.
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