This act in the Chinese balloon saga is over, as the military finally managed to shoot it down. To deal with the balloon that has been floating over America for a week, an F-22 out of Langley Air Force Base shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean with an AIM-9x missile, a short range air to air missile.
Following the shoot down, President Brandon spoke the press and bragged about his response to the balloon, saying:
“On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon or in the Pentagon to shoot it down on one thing as soon as possible, they decided without doing damage to anyone on the ground. They decided that the best time to do that was when we got over water within our…12 mile limit..they successfully took it down”
Watch that here:
Biden brags he ordered the Chinese spy balloon to be shot down once it was no longer over American soil (and therefore unable to gather critical intelligence) pic.twitter.com/hEIh9atYjY
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 4, 2023
Also joining the Biden bashing was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted a two-part attack on Biden, saying:
The Biden admin allowed the Chinese Spy Balloon to traverse the entire US and gather intel on our critical military infrastructure while the entire country screamed to shoot it down, before they finally shot it down.
Biden refused to stop China.
They can never again talk tough as they wage war on Russia in Ukraine as they have now proven they serve China.
Only weak men wage wars where they can’t be hurt but refuse to fight to protect our borders and our national security.
Biden serves China first and America Last.
Particularly infuriating was that the Biden Administration appears to have known about the balloon for nearly a week:
“The Chinese balloon entered the US identification zone on Jan. 28, entered Canadian airspace on Jan 30 and re-entered U.S. Airspace on Jan 31, US Defense official tells Reuters”
Joining MTG in pummeling Biden for waiting so long to shoot down the balloon was Ted Cruz, who said:
Good. Absolutely the right thing to do. But Biden should have done it BEFORE the Chinese spy balloon went across the entire country. And Xi knows damn well that Biden wouldn’t have had the guts to shoot down the CCP balloon if people in Montana hadn’t taken pictures of it.
Rep. Thomas Massie snuck in a hilarious joke, saying “If Biden shoots down the balloon, it will be the first thing he’s ever done to combat inflation.”
Rep. James Comer, for his part, said “This balloon never should have been allowed to cross over…past the Pacific coast into the continental United States.” Watch him discuss that here:
“This balloon never should have been allowed to cross over…past the Pacific coast into the continental United States.” – Chair @RepJamesComer pic.twitter.com/8IwZk8kRru
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) February 4, 2023
Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec joined in with a poem, saying:
99 CCP balloons
Floating over the Montana base
No red alert, Joe’s gone lost
There’s someone else who’s now the boss
The war machine does nothing for days
They’re too worried about their white rage
Xi just laughs as Mi Li cries
99 CCP balloons go spy
Despite Brandon’s bragging, the balloon was allowed to drift across America and potentially capture data from sensitive sites it drifted near, such as the Minuteman ICBM silos in Montana and the B-2 bomber base in Missouri.
Featured image credit: screengrab from embedded Twitter video
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
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