Here's an Update for Joe Biden on How Those Fully Open 'Neanderthal' States Are Doing

In early March, the White House bashed the respective Republican governors for Texas and Mississippi after they both announced they were lifting their mask mandates and setting the stage for businesses to be able to fully open and be operational again.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at the time that “this entire country has paid the price for political leaders who ignored the science when it comes to the pandemic.”

President Biden made matters worse with his response.

“I think it’s a big mistake. Look, I hope everybody’s realized by now, these masks make a difference. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we’re able to get vaccines in people’s arms,” he stated. “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters.”

Except just a few weeks after Texas made its announcement, the numbers showed their case numbers were on the decline in comparison to blue states like New York that had mask mandates and other restrictions in place, as my colleague Nick Arama previously reported.

Remember when Texas ended the mask mandate 3 weeks ago and we got countless articles about how ending the mandate would lead to a huge outbreak…

Let’s look at TX cases 3 weeks later vs NY cases in the same period…. pic.twitter.com/RsYc6DrTeM

— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 26, 2021

Fast forward a few more weeks and the numbers show that red states like Texas and Florida are continuing to do better than blue states like New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania:

While both states managed to keep case positivity rates down and begin the long road to economic recovery, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan — who are still bound to ongoing restrictions — have led the daily increase in COVID-19 cases.

Together, New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey accounted for 44% of all new infections between March 29 and April 4 with about 197,500 cases out of around 452,000 seen nationwide, data from John Hopkins University show.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Michigan has faced worst-in-the-nation COVID-19 positivity rates in recent weeks. The state reported 390.2 cases of the virus per 100,000 in the last seven days. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has laid blame on spring break travelers going to Florida, urged residents returning from the Sunshine State to work from home for a week or have their children learn remotely for a week.

Read the full report here from Fox News to learn more about the NY and PA data.

In addition to Florida and Texas doing better than the media’s favorite blue states, New York is also experiencing a vaccine hesitancy issue:

I’m sure @60Minutes will get right to a 3 month investigation on this one https://t.co/HXkHW7qANg

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 26, 2021

This is what happens when @RonDeSantisFL cuts shady deals with his donors. https://t.co/Mxy8711pEY

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 25, 2021

Heh. I’m just trying to figure out how CNN will manage to blame DeSantis somehow for the numbers in PA, NY, and MI. Either that, or Tucker Carlson.

But back to Biden, is it “following the science” to sign an executive order mandating mask-wearing on federal property your first day in office and then promptly violate it just a few hours later? Is it “following the science” to increase COVID restrictions in your state while at the same time making plans to dine out with your wife and friends at a fancy restaurant like the French Laundry?

Is it “following the science” to walk around a shuttered California hair salon maskless while getting a haircut and highlights? Is it “following the science” to bow to teachers’ unions in the fight over school reopenings when even some pro-lockdown media outlets are acknowledging that “there’s mounting evidence that Covid transmission in schools is low, even when there’s a high rate of infection in the community”?

It’s hard to take “you must follow the science!” arguments seriously from leaders in this country who apparently think the rules don’t apply to them.

I’m not a scientist so I won’t argue any of it here, but it would appear that in contrast to the supposed experts being used to guide blue states like NY, PA, and MI (and Biden), the experts Florida and Texas are consulting on coronavirus restrictions have helped lead the states on a path of declining cases. Clearly, they must be doing something right.