Texas Gov. Abbott lashes out at Biden and immigrants for COVID-19 — after rolling back safety measures

President Joe Biden and health experts have been highly critical of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week for lifting the state's mask mandate and allowing businesses to fully reopen — a premature move even as spread of the virus has declined.

But even as Abbott defied the best public health advice, the far-right Republican still used the pandemic for his own demagogic ends, blaming Biden's immigration policy and undocumented immigrants for Texas' recent coronavirus infections.

During a Thursday appearance on Fox News, Abbott claimed, "The Biden administration was releasing illegal immigrants into our communities who have COVID. The Biden administration was spreading COVID in South Texas yesterday because of their lack of constraint of testing and quarantining people who come across the border illegally."

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, another Republican governor, has also been drawing criticism from health experts for deciding to lift COVID-19 restrictions in his state. And Biden described the Texas and Mississippi decisions as "Neanderthal thinking," stressing that social distancing measures should continue until more Americans have been vaccinated for COVID-19. According to CNN, around 6.5% of Texans have been vaccinated so far.

The president said, "I think it's a big mistake…. The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything's fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters."

Abbott, in response, told Fox News, "The Biden administration was exposing Texans to COVID. That is a Neanderthal-type approach."