Defending Present-Day Neanderthals in the Present

“Neanderthals are hunter-gatherers, they’re protectors of their family, they are resilient, they’re resourceful, they tend to their own. So, I think Joe Biden needs to rethink what he is saying.”

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), on Fox Business, on President Joe Biden’s criticism of the governors of Texas and Mississippi. It’s not clear why she’s speaking in the present tense.