Topline
Former President Donald Trump urged the U.S. government on Friday to “shoot down” the alleged spy balloon detected over Montana as some Republicans in Congress suggested the incident is an example of what they claim is a failure by the Biden Administration to reign in Beijing.
President Joe Biden (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN and Noel CELIS / … [+]
Key Facts
“SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday, echoing Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Ryan Zinke (Mont.), who also tweeted that the balloon should be shot down, a measure U.S. officials have reportedly avoided out of fears that falling debris could hurt people on the ground.
Some Republicans requested briefings on the balloon sighting: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) called for a “Gang of Eight” briefing, he tweeted, referring to House and Senate leaders, along with the chairs and ranking members of the Intelligence Committees, while Montana Sen. Steve Daines sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting a “full security briefing from the administration,” NBC reported.
Other GOP members called out the Biden Administration for what they said is an inadequate approach to dealing with China: Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.) said in a statement the Pentagon “failed to act with urgency,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) accused Biden of “coddling and appeasing the Chinese communists,” he tweeted, and Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) alleged Chinese President Xi Jingping is “spying on America because he does not fear or respect Joe Biden,” he tweeted.
Concerns about the balloon and claims that it is evidence of increasing threats by China on U.S. national security crossed party lines: Chair of the House Select Committee on China, Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), along with ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), issued a joint statement calling the balloon “a violation of American sovereignty . . . that demonstrates the [Chinese Communist Party] threat is not confined to distant shores – it is here at home.”
Key Background
The Pentagon said Thursday that it had detected a “high-altitude surveillance balloon” over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday that it believes belongs to China. The balloon, which is approximately the size of three buses, traversed the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, through Canada and passed over “sensitive sights,” U.S. defense officials said. The Chinese government on Friday insisted the balloon is a “civilian airship” used for weather research that was blown off course and apologized for the “unintended” incident, the BBC reported.
Tangent
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China planned for Friday following the balloon’s detection that a senior State Department official called “a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law,” Reuters reported.
Further Reading
China Says Alleged Spy Balloon Hovering Over U.S. Is Actually A ‘Civilian Airship’ Blown Off Course (Forbes)
Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Hovering Over U.S., Pentagon Says (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/02/03/trump-right-wing-republicans-urge-us-government-to-shoot-down-suspected-chinese-spying-balloon/