Former President Donald Trump joined the legions of lawmakers and dramatists on both sides of the aisle in saying President Joe Biden was right to order the shooting down of the so-called Chinese spy balloon.
(There was some disagreement on timing, as many pundits and legislators called for the action to take place sooner than it was executed. Biden said he gave the order right away and that the military acted judiciously in scheduling the takedown.)
Trump posted more of his thoughts on the balloon in hindsight, including his own speculation that the balloon may have been “manned spacecraft.”
Trump wrote: “Who sends a Billion Dollar blimp, with the most sophisticated equipment in the World, and large enough to hold ten cars or 3 large buses… without it quite possibly being manned, such as the “manned spacecraft?”
Trump expressed the idea that China “should have been called to ask” if the balloon was manned. “If ‘no’ shoot it down,” he wrote, “if ‘yes,’ negotiate the greatest deal EVER!”
Uh, #FormerGuy thinks that #ChineseSpyBalloon was manned and that we should have asked #China‘s permission to shoot it down ? 🙄 https://t.co/R4GJuT8cs8
— Steven Pifer (@steven_pifer) February 6, 2023
There is no claim by the Chinese government that the downed balloon was manned, which means Trump’s if/then proposal — if no, shoot it down — aligns with the action taken by the Biden administration.
Biden certainly heard and responded the chorus of voices calling for shooting down the balloon, which is why when the US military did shoot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, the President was sure to mention that he’d given the order to shoot it down on the previous Wednesday, as soon as Biden knew about the situation.
“On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down… as soon as possible,” Biden told reporters.
