A police officer who was called to a Montana airport on Sunday for a report of a ‘frustrated passenger’ did not recognize Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who got into a heated exchange with airline staff after missing his flight.
Cruz, 51, was wearing a mask that covered much of the lower half of his bearded face when he walked up to a ticket counter at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport shortly after noon, according to the Reddit user who first shared video from the scene.
The senator from Texas apparently grew angry that he had missed the check-in window for his flight and confronted United Airlines employees.
The user who posted the video claimed Cruz said some form of ‘Do you know who I am?’
Cruz also allegedly demanded to know the United staffers’ names, asked to speak to a manager ‘a dozen times, and threatened to call the airline’s corporate headquarters.
Scott Humphrey, Bozeman airport’s deputy director told DailyMail.com that the public safety officer (PSO) who responded to the scene did not recognize the irate high-profile traveler.
‘Our PSO didn’t realize he was dealing with Senator Cruz until after the fact,’ he said.
A representative for the airport confirmed to DailyMail.com that a ‘frustrated’ Cruz was unhappy that re-booking options were ‘limited out of Bozeman due to Spring Break.’
Cruz managed to rebook and depart later that evening, Humphrey said.
It’s not clear what Cruz or the airport employees were saying in the short clip.
It is unclear which airline or flight he ultimately took, and where he was heading.
At different points of the 23-second clip, Cruz can be seen arguing with airline employees and then a law enforcement officer. A representative for Bozeman airport told DailyMail.com that the officer was called to deal with a ‘frustrated passenger’ but did not know it was Cruz until after the incident occurred
It’s not clear what Cruz or the airline employees were saying. The Texas senator was following federal health guidelines by wearing a mask
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.
Cruz has not commented on the incident yet, nor has he responded to a request for comment from DailyMail.com
‘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 DC 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.
Cruz departed later that same evening, a representative for the airport told DailyMail.com
His confrontation at Bozeman airport was compared to Cruz’s attempt to flee Texas for Cancun in February last year, when millions of his constituents were struggling with a 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.
However, Cruz did manage to return in time for opening statements in Monday’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
During his time to speak the senator opined about the increasingly partisan nature of the Supreme Court confirmation process, calling it ‘anti-democratic.’
‘Starting in the 60s and 70s, the Supreme Court decided its place in our democracy, at least to many justices, was to set aside the democratic decisions of the people and instead to mandate the policy outcomes they themselves support,’ Cruz said.
He also accused President Joe Biden of carrying out a ‘high-tech lynching’ of conservative Justice Clarence Thomas during Biden’s time chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Cruz told Jackson on Monday that she would not face the same intense, personal grilling that then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faced at the hands of Democrats over his bombshell sexual assault allegations.
‘I can assure you that your hearing will feature none of that disgraceful behavior,’ he said. ‘No-one is going to inquire into your teenage dating habits. No-one is going to ask you with mock severity, “Do you like beer?”‘
