Donald Trump Jr hits out ‘Democrat governor’ of Texas... who is actually Republican

Texas last had a Democrat governor more than 25 years ago

In an attempt to defend Ted Cruz for going on vacation as Texas struggled with the aftermath of Winter storm Uri, Donald Trump Jr appeared to get one important detail wrong in accusing the lawmaker’s critics of hypocrisy.

The senator for Texas is being eviscerated by the public and media after it emerged he had taken his family to Cancun, Mexico, as his constituents endured record cold temperatures with no heat, power, or water,

The eldest son of former president Donald Trump took to Twitter and hit out at “the hypocrisy of those trying to cancel Ted Cruz,” adding that their silence “on their Democrat Governor’s incompetence is telling.”

Unfortunately for Mr Trump, and as many Texans were quick to point out, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is a Republican and was chair of the Republican Governor’s Association from 2019 to 2020.

The Libertarian Party of Texas tweeted: “Yeah, we have been really quiet about our Democrat Governor’s incompetence! We’ll get right on that…”

“The Governor Texas is a Republican, you insufferable dips***,” read one tweet.

“Meet Gov. Greg Abbott, D-Texas. This is a Republican race to the absolute bottom, and this champion is a late but formidable entry,” said another.

“You think anybody told him yet?” asked a third.

Mr Trump’s tweet linked to a video on Rumble in which he admitted that the optics of Mr Cruz’s vacation were not “ideal”, but argued that it was not his job to manage crises. That task belongs to the governor.

“Now if I were a Trump — which I am — I’d come up with a nickname for something like this, like, ‘Cancun Cruz’,” Mr Trump said. “It’s funny, but honestly I can’t get on this bandwagon trying to cancel the guy.”

Since the initial tweet, some have pointed out that Mr Trump’s tweet has been taken out of context and he was instead referring to attacks from “blue check Twitter” — a reference to coastal media elites — who he says should be focussing on the scandals involving New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

However, his comments did spark a fond remembrance for the last time Texas had a Democrat as governor — Ann Richards, who ran the state from 1991 to 1995, and prior to that as the treasurer for eight years.

Actor Billy Baldwin asked what Ms Richards might have made of Don Jr referring to a devastating one-liner she delivered in 1988 regarding then-Vice President George HW Bush: “Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

Ms Richards lost reelection in 1994 to George W Bush.