'I got no defense': Ted Cruz responds after viral tweet mocking California energy policies resurfaces amid Texas storm

• Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas responded Tuesday morning to online criticism over a resurfaced tweet.
• In August, Cruz mocked what he described on Twitter as California's "failed energy policies."
• His post resurfaced Tuesday as millions of Texans went without electricity during a winter storm.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas struck a rare conciliatory tone Tuesday after Twitter users lambasted him for a resurfaced August tweet in which he mocked what he described as California's "failed energy policies."

Millions of Texans have been left without electricity for sometimes-lengthy periods of time over the past few days because of severe winter weather.

Many accused Cruz of hypocrisy for criticizing California's power infrastructure over the wildfires and extreme heat waves that plagued the West Coast last summer when his state's infrastructure had proved unable to handle its own inclement weather.

"I got no defense," Cruz tweeted Tuesday, responding to the critiques. "A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good."

In August, Cruz responded to a tweet from the California governor's office urging people in that state to turn off unneeded lights and limit their use of appliances. He described the state as "unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity."

He then said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as the Biden-Harris presidential ticket wanted to make what he called California's "failed energy policy" the national standard.

"Hope you don't like air conditioning!" he tweeted last year.

Now, Texas' power grid has been overwhelmed, with a higher-than-usual demand for electricity coinciding with a supply threatened by large amounts of ice and snow and freezing temperatures. As of Tuesday evening, more than 3 million Texans were without power, according to the outage-tracking site PowerOutage.us.

The power outages, which have included rolling blackouts meant to limit the strain on the system, have affected designated warming centers and shelters.

Cruz's concession received a mixed response, with some urging the lawmaker to seek legislative action to help the millions across the region affected by the freezing temperatures.

"Stay safe!" he tweeted.