A fellow passenger on an American Airlines flight snapped photos of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) as he traveled mask-less from Houston to Dallas over the weekend. American requires all passengers on flights to wear masks. Airline policy says if passengers don’t wear masks, they could be denied boarding on that flight and future flights.

Captured today at 10:45am — @TedCruz on a commercial flight, refusing to wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/h8DM7J4CMi

— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020

The ABC affiliate in Dallas cites a statement from a Cruz spokesperson saying, “Yesterday during his flight he removed his mask to drink and put it back on afterward.”

But there are reports that wasn’t the case and it doesn’t explain the picture of the Senator waiting to get on the flight.

For those trying to argue that he was drinking, it’s not hard to have a mask on and undo one side to take a sip then put it back on. Most people take their time drinking coffee.

Also, here’s a photo of him sitting outside the gate: pic.twitter.com/C7cbm3pQH0

— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020

And I just confirmed that none of the American flight attendants on the flight said anything to Cruz about him not wearing a mask, in clear violation of American’s rules.

— John Aravosis ?????️‍? (@aravosis) July 13, 2020

American Airlines responded to the picture on Twitter writing, “We are committed to protecting the health and safety of all customers, and we are reviewing the details of this matter.”

For those asking, this was on an @AmericanAir flight — their policy clearly states that masks should be worn on the flight. pic.twitter.com/CyG1GG5H8n

— Hosseh (@hossehenad) July 13, 2020

Ted Cruz's former rival @BetoORourke calls out Cruz for apparently not wearing a mask on a flight.

"What if our personal liberty here in Texas as an excuse for not wearing masks… is, in fact, infecting and making other people sick and killing our fellow human beings?" pic.twitter.com/buPjStNqwn

— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) July 13, 2020