President Joe Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki bashed state governors who chose to end their mask mandates Wednesday, accusing them of ignoring science.
Texas and Mississippi announced Tuesday that they would lift their mask mandates and remove all capacity restrictions on businesses, an aggressive contradiction of Biden’s universal mask stance. Biden described the end of mask mandates is “Neanderthal thinking,” and Psaki argued that while the U.S. is nearly a year into the pandemic, now is not the time to relax restrictions. (RELATED: Wednesday Morning Dispatch: Neera Tanden Is Biden’s First Big Loss, But He Also Got A Big Vaccine Win)
President Biden criticized the move by Texas and other states to ease COVID-19 restrictions, saying the state’s decision to lift its mask mandate amounted to “neanderthal thinking” pic.twitter.com/Ii2sRd60YY
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) March 3, 2021
“This entire country has paid the price for political leaders who ignored the science when it comes to the pandemic,” Psaki said. “There’s still more work to be done. We need to remain vigilant.”
.@PressSec is asked about Texas and Mississippi opening their states and getting rid of mask mandates:
“This entire country has paid the price for political leaders who ignored the science when it comes to the pandemic.” pic.twitter.com/dRDtI3n1aV
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 3, 2021
Biden has moved to require Americans to wear masks at all times, signing an executive order the day he came into office mandating masks on federal property across the country. (RELATED: ‘That’s Not Enough’: Texas Bar Owners Protest Gov. Greg Abbott’s Coronavirus Lockdown Order)
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken the opposite stance, saying lockdown measures and mask mandates have wreaked havoc on his state’s economy.
“Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities,” Abbott said during a Tuesday press conference. “Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100%.”
“I am ending the statewide mask mandate. Texans have mastered the habits to keep from getting COVID,” he added.