Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is firing back after President Joe Biden called on states to re-enact their face mask mandates, with the Republican instead urging Americans to engage in “personal responsibility.”

Texas is one of six states that has rescinded mask mandates, with the others being Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Despite the fact that it’s clear that the COVID-19 vaccines are working, Biden still said that mask mandates should be enforced around the country.

“I’m reiterating my call for every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate. Please, this is not politics. Reinstate the mandate if you let it down,” Biden said. “The failure to take this virus seriously is precisely what got us into this mess in the first place — risks more cases and more deaths.”

“Mask up, mask up! It’s a patriotic duty. It’s the only way we ever get back to normal,” Biden said.

Abbott, however, was not having any of it.

Abbott fired back with a statement released through his office calling on Americans to exercise “personal responsibility,” which was a subtle jab at Biden’s saying the government should impose more restrictions on their citizens.

“Texans and Americans alike have learned and mastered over the past year the safe practices to protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID, and do not need the government to tell them how to do so,” the statement read. “Removing state mandates, however, does not end personal responsibility or the importance of caring for family members, friends, and your community.”

“The governor has been clear in telling Texans that COVID hasn’t ended, and that all Texans should follow medical advice and safe practices to continue containing COVID, such as wearing a mask,” it continued. “Texas continues trending in the right direction to contain COVID and save lives–our hospitalizations, active cases, and positivity rate are the lowest in months, and each day we are getting Texans more shots than ever before.”

Abbott lifted the mask mandate on March 10 in his state, and the data shows that there has not been a surge of COVID-19 cases there since then. In fact, cases have fallen by 17% and deaths have fallen by 34% over the past two weeks.

It looks like Abbott may have been in the right after all.