Former President Donald Trump called for the U.S. to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was spotted in American airspace.
Trump made his comments in a Friday post on Truth Social, writing: "SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON."
According to The Associated Press, the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down because of the risk posed by falling debris.
A senior defense official said the U.S. has "very high confidence" it's a Chinese high-altitude balloon and was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.