White House defends Biden ‘Neanderthal’ quip as ‘a reflection of his frustration’

“The behavior of a Neanderthal, just to be very clear, the behavior of,” Psaki told reporters, never quite explaining her own clean-up attempt of her boss’s off-the-cuff remark from the previous day. She appeared to mean the state leaders’ decisions reflected ones a Neanderthal might make, not that those individuals were the modern equivalent of ancient humans who roamed the earth 40,000 years ago.

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Biden’s use of the term “Neanderthal” Wednesday before an Oval Office meeting was “a reflection of his frustration and exasperation” after the Texas and Mississippi governors rolled back social distancing and mask measures, according to Psaki. She reminded reporters the country was only on roughly day 40 of Biden’s 100-day face-covering challenge.

“I don’t think his view on mask-wearing is a secret. They’re certainly familiar with it. He’s talked about it many, many times. And I’m certain when he speaks with them next, he will convey that directly,” she said.

“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,” Biden said Wednesday.”The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask. Forget it. It still matters.”

The president’s remark prompted sharp responses from Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi. It also sparked outrage from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

“The Biden Administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID into Texas communities. The Biden Admin. must IMMEDIATELY end this callous act that exposes Texans & Americans to COVID,” Abbott tweeted Wednesday.

On Thursday, Psaki pushed back on Abbott’s retort from the White House briefing podium, saying testing was being handled by local and state authorities, as well as nonprofit organizations. She added the administration wasn’t considering domestic travel restrictions to mitigate risks created by the governors’ decisions.

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Former President Donald Trump didn’t deserve credit for his role in laying the groundwork for the country’s vaccine distribution, Psaki also said.

“I don’t think anyone deserves credit when half a million people have died from this pandemic in this country,” she argued.

The Neanderthal Museum is even weighing in on the debate, defending the now-defunct species and inviting Biden to visit while claiming the early humans “were smarter than You think!”