President Joe Biden accused the governors of Texas and Mississippi of “neanderthal thinking” when they lifted the mask mandate. It was a direct swipe at Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi following their decisions. Earlier, both states announced that all businesses will resume full capacity and that wearing masks won’t be mandatory. Mississippi started Wednesday, while Texas will start March 10.
RELATED: Mississippi Joins Texas In Lifting Mask Mandate
Texas and Mississippi
Mississippi Governor Reeves announced Tuesday that they will lift all restrictions starting Wednesday. “Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!” he said in a tweet Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Abbott said the state reported lower case counts and increased vaccination. Consequently, this is enough to revoke all COVID-19 state restrictions starting March 10. “With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus,” Abbott said. State businesses will operate at 100 percent capacity and masks are no longer required.
Neanderthal Thinking
Last Wednesday, the President ranted at White House reporters Wednesday. “We’ve been able to move that all the way up to the end of May have enough [vaccines] for every American, to get every adult American to get a shot,” Biden said. “The last thing, the last thing, the last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime everything’s fine, take off your mask,” he remarked. The President insisted that measures still matter. “It’s critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science,” he added.
Biden referred to concerns issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC head, told reporters Wednesday “now is not the time” to revoke the restrictions. “How this plays out is up to us,” she noted. In particular, the next two months will prove pivotal in decreasing virus levels.
Governors Fire Back
In return, Reeves fired back at Biden’s pronouncements. Specifically, he said that the state will ensure businesses will operate without restriction. “It’s justified by the data, and no insults from the President will stop us from leaning towards freedom,” Reeves tweeted Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Abbott defended his decision. In a KPRC 2 interview, he said that the state is setting an all-time record of administering COVID-19 vaccines. ”All the numbers are going in the right direction. Today we had the lowest number of hospitalizations that we’ve had, and the lowest positivity rate that we’ve had in more than four months, the most number of people have been vaccinated,” he said.
Biden is Endangering Texas with Policies
At the same KPRC 2 interview, Abbott said the Biden administration’s policies are endangering Texans. Specifically, he referred to a recent investigation by Telemundo that reported that border patrol authorities released more than 100 migrants after testing positive for COVID-19. “President Biden’s administration itself is exposing Texans and Americans to COVID-19 through illegal immigrants that they are allowing to come into the state of Texas, who are positive for COVID-19 and being released into Texas communities,” Abbott said.
In response to the Telemundo investigation, a Brownsville spokesperson said that the city does not have the authority to retain these migrants. Additionally, city employees suggest that families go to nongovernment organizations (NGOs) near the border. These groups can shelter them and keep them in quarantine, However, their advice mostly gets unheeded. Instead, migrants make plans to travel to dozens of cities throughout the country to meet family members.
Watch the Politico video report where President Joe Biden calls decisions made by Texas and Mississippi liting the mask mandate as “Neanderthal thinking”:
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