Alleged Chinese Spy Balloons Passed Into US 3 Times During Trump Administration

Suspected spy balloons from China have crossed the continental United States at least three times while Donald Trump was president, according to a statement released Saturday by the Department of Defense citing an unnamed “senior defense official”.

“Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the previous administration,” the statement said. The Associated Press also reported that another balloon entered the United States earlier in the Biden administration.

None of those four incursions would have lasted as long as the journey of the alleged spy balloon that the US military shot down on Saturday. And none of the other balloons were apparently blown out of the sky, although that wasn’t immediately confirmed.

Despite visits from possible spy balloons while Trump was in office, many Republicans have complained that President Joe Biden didn’t order the newer balloon down fast enough — or that he didn’t. should not have allowed the balloon to enter US airspace. to start.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claims that Trump would never have allowed a Chinese spy balloon to reach the United States

“Would Trump have left China flies a spy balloon over our country? Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked on Twitter.

Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told AP that Chinese surveillance balloons have been sighted several times over the past five years. Some of them were spotted near US military bases in Hawaii, he said, but did not specify when.

In a Friday post on Truth Social, Trump himself joined in the call for the Biden administration to take down the latest contraption, saying, “KNOCK DOWN THE BALL”. But he did not discuss his own administration’s experience with alleged Chinese spy balloons.

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations and likely Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley also beat Biden for not taking more immediate action, but also failed to address incidents involving balloons in the latest administration.