Former President Donald Trump on Sunday denied that Chinese balloons had entered US airspace during his administration, although the Pentagon said it had happened “at least three times.”
“CHINA HAS SO MUCH RESPECT TO ‘TRUMP’ BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED, AND IT NEVER HAPPENED. ENOUGH FAKE DISINFORMATION!” former president posted on Social Truth.
Trump also described the Biden administration’s handling of the suspected spy balloon – which the military shot down on Saturday after crossing the continental US – as a “disgrace.”
“They are just good at lying in elections, and disinformation,” Trump wrote, in an apparent reference to his unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Despite Trump’s denials, a senior defense official who spoke on background said in a statement released by the Pentagon on Saturday that Chinese balloons had traveled over the continental US during Trump’s presidency, albeit briefly.
Some current and former Republican officials have also denied that this happened or tried to blame Democrats for past ballooning incidents.
“Maybe, just maybe, this is the first time that the Obama administration and the military have been told that this is not a big deal and that they should not raise these alarm bells,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark. ) told Fox News Sunday.
“Not true,” former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told Fox News.
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“Do you remember during the Trump administration, when photographers in the field and commercial airline pilots talked about spy balloons in the United States that they could see and see?” Ratcliffe asked. “I don’t remember either, because it didn’t happen.”
The U.S. said it shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast on Saturday after waiting for the water to clear so falling debris would not pose a threat to people on the ground. President Joe Biden was first alerted to the balloon’s presence on Tuesday, after it crossed into US territory from Canadian airspace, US defense and military officials said.
China, which said the plane was only a civilian weather balloon, called the destruction of the balloon “a clear reaction and a violation of international practice.” China’s Foreign Ministry said it reserves the right “to take further action in response.”