‘Too little too late’: Mike Pence scorches Biden over Chinese spy balloon
Ryan King
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Former Vice President Mike Pence put President Joe Biden on blast, saying that his address on the balloon given Thursday was “too little, too late.”
Pence voiced bewilderment over why the Biden administration allowed the suspected Chinese spy balloon to traverse United States airspace for nearly a week and then took weeks longer to address the nation on the matter.
‘I WILL TAKE IT DOWN’: BIDEN MAKES VOW ON AERIAL OBJECTS THAT THREATEN US
“I would characterize the President’s press conference today as too little too late. I mean, the president addressed this issue two weeks after this captured the nation’s attention with the first balloon. It’s just unacceptable,” Pence told Fox News Thursday.
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Biden publicly addressed the nation Thursday, seeking to ease public angst about the suspected spy balloon, vowing that, “If any object presents a threat to the safety, security of the American people, I will take it down.”
During his speech, the president noted that there were multiple aerial objects that his administration shot down that may not have been linked to China and were instead “likely” tied to private organizations.
U.S. intelligence had tracked the Chinese balloon since its takeoff from China, according to CBS. The military then observed as it penetrated airspace over Alaska in late January until shooting it down off the Carolina coast on Feb. 4.
Military officials subsequently claimed that multiple balloons breached airspace under the Trump administration. The detection technology of those devices has improved since the Trump administration, according to officials.
Pence disputed accounts of incursions under Trump and insisted that he was never briefed about such an incident. He also declined to divulge details about China’s alleged spy program that involves high-altitude balloons, stressing he can’t disclose classified information.
“I think if you had an incursion into the airspace of the United States of America during our administration, we’d have been in the situation room,” Pence said before doubling down.
“I’m telling you, to my knowledge, not a word. And remember … I received the Presidential Daily Brief every day,” Pence said.
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Fallout from the balloon debacle further soured relations with China and prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to call off his planned trip to the country. China has claimed that the balloon was for civilian meteorological purposes and veered off course. China condemned the downing of the balloon.
“I expect to be speaking with President Xi,” Biden declared in his address. “But I make no apologies for taking down that balloon.”