In a horrifying development, Texas has now surpassed New York's death total from COVID.

Texas has passed New York to become the state with the second-most COVID-19 deaths, a feat experts say was driven by an inability to control transmission of the virus here.

Texas reached the milestone Wednesday, hitting 53,275 deaths, despite trailing New York by more than 29,000 fatalities last summer.

This was totally avoidable. If Texas had credible leaders in their state government, they might have chosen protecting their citizens over politics.

Not too long ago, Gov. Greg Abbott took several bows for reopening and un-masking Texas.

On March 2nd, 2021 Abbott lifted the mask mandates.

“It’s time to reopen Texas 100 percent,” Abbott told reporters at a restaurant in Lubbock.

Then in May, he boasted about his state's low COVID death total.

President Biden blasted Abbott's "Neanderthal Thinking" on masks back in March.

It wasn't hard to predict what would happen next in Texas.

Ignoring the Delta variant, the CDC, and not putting a premium on getting Texans vaccinated or taking real precautions against being infected and spreading the virus, Texas now rivals Florida for trying to outTrump each other.

The blame falls squarely at the feet of Gov. Abbott, Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton and Lieut. Gov. Dan Patrick, each of whom values owning the liberals and going on Fox News much more than of the lives of their own citizens.

Wake up, Texas, and start valuing your own well being over trolling people on the left.

It's been morally sad, as well as deadly to your health.