'Insult to our intelligence': CNN panel buries Ted Cruz for blaming his kids in 'weak damage control'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) got thrashed by a CNN panel on Friday for blaming his own children for his decision to flee to Cancun during a humanitarian crisis in his home state of Texas.

Host Alisyn Camerota started off by marveling that Cruz felt no obligation to help out his fellow Texans when they were suffering in the cold without electricity.

"It's astounding that he seems to have forgotten the public service part of being a public servant," she said. "The taxpayers pay his salary, and so instead of spending time ferrying his family to Cancun, he could have been calling ERCOT, he could have been helping out in his home state."

Guest Natasha Alford heaped scorn on Cruz for saying that he only went to Cancun because his daughters asked him to go.

"It's really an insult to our intelligence," she said. "You would think, even just for the sake of optics that you would stay home and help your constituents while they're boiling water and trying to close holes that are in their roof. but I was really insulted by the explanation -- you know, the weak damage car control, the blaming on the children or the saying, 'Oh, I was just going to be right back.'"

Watch the video below.