Donald Trump has urged for a Chinese spy balloon that is thought to be flying over Montana to be shot down.
The former president commented on his Truth Social website, “SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!”
Trump: SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON! pic.twitter.com/wsVVc2IjMh
— The Triune Times (@TriuneTimes) February 3, 2023
On Thursday, the Pentagon said it was tracking a “high-altitude surveillance balloon” that had entered Montana airspace after flying over Canada and parts of Alaska, adding that it is “certain” it belongs to China.
A senior defense official said at a briefing on Thursday that President Joe Biden inquired about military options but was advised against them because to the danger of falling debris to civilians on the ground.
“President Biden was briefed and asked for military options. Secretary [Lloyd] Austin convened senior DOD leadership yesterday, even as he was on the road in the Philippines.
“It was the strong recommendation by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, and the commander of NORTHCOM, General VanHerck, not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field.”
The United States Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, was established in 2002 and is responsible for “planning, organizing, and executing homeland defense,” according to its website.
According to the official, the US military feels the balloon offers “little incremental value from an intelligence collection standpoint.”
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, stated at an impromptu press conference on Thursday that the balloon is “far above commercial air traffic and does not pose a military or physical threat to civilians on the ground.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated on Friday that the balloon was a civilian “airship” that “deviated far from its scheduled trajectory” owing to heavy winds.
Several prominent Republicans have chastised Biden for his reaction to the balloon, urging him to take a harder position.
Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted: “Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately. President Trump would have never tolerated this. President Trump would have never tolerated many things happening to America.”
Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 2, 2023
President Trump would have never tolerated this.
President Trump would have never tolerated many things happening to America.
She added in a later tweet: “Shoot it down! The official response saying shooting it down could harm people on the ground doesn’t sell. In rural America, there aren’t people everywhere. There’s land.”
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused China of “brazen disregard for US sovereignty,” writing on Twitter, “President Biden cannot be silent.”
A number of US nuclear weapons silos are located in Montana, raising the possibility that they were the target of the surveillance balloon.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Beijing this weekend, his first trip to China since taking office.
