Former President Donald Trump on Friday slammed President Biden for “deliberately allowing” a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon to fly in U.S. airspace.
Mr. Trump accused Mr. Biden of being “weak on China” and pledged to crack down on Chinese espionage if he is elected to the White House in 2024.
“Joe Biden has surrendered America’s borders to illegal aliens, and now he has surrendered American airspace to Communist China,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “Biden is deliberately allowing a Chinese spy balloon to soar freely over the continental United States.”
The Pentagon revealed on Thursday evening that it is tracking the Chinese balloon in U.S. airspace, sparking a firestorm of concern on Capitol Hill and leading Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly postpone a long-planed weekend trip to China.
The Pentagon said the balloon was spotted at one point over parts of Montana, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Mr. Trump said the decision not to shoot down the balloon was a continuation of Mr. Biden’s soft approach toward Beijing.
“Biden is weak on China because he is controlled and owned by China,” the former president’s statement read. “He dismantled the Trump administration’s initiative countering Chinese espionage in the United States, he canceled the ban on the Chinese intelligence weapon known as TikTok, and he is allowing China to buy up critical infrastructure all over the country, including real estate near sensitive U.S. military bases.”
Mr. Trump pledged that he will “kick Chinese intelligence operations out of the country and force China to give up any U.S. holdings that put national security at risk.”
“A strong signal must be sent that America will not allow China to trample our sovereignty and illegally surveil our country,” he said.
China‘s Foreign Ministry, in a relatively conciliatory message on Friday, confirmed the craft was from China but said the balloon was not engaged in espionage and was collecting meteorological data and had been blown off course by “westerly winds.”
The White House called the presence of the Chinese surveillance balloon over U.S. airspace a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty and international law, despite Beijing’s claims that the craft was not engaged in espionage.
The strong language from the White House, however, belies what critics say is inaction in the face of a clear Chinese incursion into U.S. airspace.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president asked the Pentagon to present options for how to respond once the balloon was spotted, but decided against shooting it down based on the recommendation of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley who cited a risk to people on the ground.
“We are tracking it closely and keeping all options on the table,” she said. “It does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”
That decision has been the subject of intense criticism, by some who say not doing so was a display of weakness by the administration.
“The Biden Administration’s weakness is provocative. Xi Jinping and the CCP are growing bolder because of it.,” said former Trump administration CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Shoot down the CCP’s balloon safely and demand answers from Xi.”
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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