Chinese spy balloon – live: Defence official says balloons were in US airspace three times during Trump admin
In the wake of a Chinese spy balloon entering US airspace this week, a senior defence official is now saying Chinese spy balloons previously entered US airspace three times during Donald Trump’s presidency,
This comes as Mr Trump and other Republicans have rejected such assertions, attempting to blame the incursions on Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
The Defence Department said in a statement on Saturday that “Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration”.
Yet another balloon entered US airspace previously during Mr Biden’s time as president, the Associated Press reported.
Mr Trump appeared to be outraged at the statement from the Defence Department and the reporting of it, writing on Truth Social on Sunday morning that “the Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration”.
The previous four violations of US sovereignty didn’t go on for as long as the most recent incursion, which ended Saturday when the balloon was shot down by the US military off the coast of South Carolina.
