President Joe Biden spoke briefly Saturday about the Chinese spy balloon that has been hovering over the United States for the past several days as the Federal Aviation Administration halted departures and arrivals at three Carolinas airports.
Asked by a reporter if the United States would shoot down the balloon as it disembarked from Air Force Eleven, Biden said: “We’ll take care of that.” It was the first time Biden had spoken on camera about the balloon and he did not. say how his management plans to deal with it.
Residents of North Carolina and South Carolina reported seeing the spy balloon on Saturday, and the Federal Aviation Administration halted departures and arrivals at three local airports due to “a national security effort.”
“The FAA has halted departures and arrivals at Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” the FAA said in a statement. .
At a press conference Friday, Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said the military was still “reviewing options” but had not shot down the balloon because “at this time we assess that there is no physical or military threat for the people on the ground.”
Ryder said Friday the balloon was flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet, above civil and military aviation, and moving east across the continental US.
Top Republicans in Congress have demanded answers from the Biden administration on the Chinese balloon, with some saying the US should have shot it down. Former President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “SKID THE BALLOON!”
The balloon was seen over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday after having flown over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and Canada.
China said on Friday that the balloon was a “civilian airship” used for meteorological research that had blown off course. Ryder rejected Beijing’s claims, saying: “We know it’s a surveillance balloon.”
