Suspected spy balloons from China have entered the continental United States at least three times during the Trump administration, according to a Defense Department statement on Saturday, citing an unnamed “senior defense official.”
“Chinese balloons have 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 crossed the United States earlier during the Biden administration.
None of the four raids lasted as long as the balloon ride shot down by the US military on Saturday. And none of the other balloons were apparently launched from the sky, although this was not immediately confirmed.
Spy balloon visits while Trump was in office fueled outrage among Republicans who complained that Biden didn’t order the balloon quickly enough this time — or that he shouldn’t have allowed the balloon into U.S. aircraft from beginning.
Representative. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) falsely claimed that Trump would never allow a spy balloon from China to reach the United States
“She would have left Trump Did China fly a spy balloon over our country? asked Rep. Jim Jordan on Twitter.
Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the AP that Chinese surveillance balloons have been seen several times over the past five years. Some of them have been spotted near US military bases in Hawaii, he said, although he did not specify when.
Trump himself joined the call for the Biden administration to burst the last bubble in a message on Truth Social on Friday, saying: “Drop the bubble.” But he did not discuss his administration’s experience with Chinese spy balloons.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley also reportedly criticized Biden for not taking more immediate action, but he also failed to address bubbles in the last administration.
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