It's shocking the Defense Department and U.S. intelligence agencies didn't know about the Chinese balloon flying across the Midwest, says former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.
"We spend nearly ... over a trillion dollars plus a year between our Defense Department and our intelligence agencies. I find it shocking that they didn't just find out about this when somebody actually saw it in the sky," Nunes said Friday during an appearance on Newsmax's "Chris Salcedo Show."
"This thing had to start somewhere. I'd be shocked if, and I think I would be scared to death, if we didn't know this was coming. I think President Donald Trump said it well on Truth Social this morning — it's time to shoot it down," said Nunes, CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group.
China claims that the balloon was merely a weather research airship that had blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China's contention that the balloon was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.
The balloon was detected over sensitive military sites in Montana but had moved eastward over the heartland of the central United States by midday and was expected to remain in U.S. airspace for several days, officials said.
The balloon — which is the size of three buses — has not been shot down because officials determined that the potential damage of falling debris outweighed the risk of the balloon itself.
"I mean this this is ridiculous. They should take it down, it's out in the middle of the Midwest there," Nunes said. "This whole idea that 'Oh, somebody could get hurt,' yeah like the whole damn country could get hurt if they don't take this thing down and figure out what the hell the Chinese are doing with it."
President Joe Biden declined to comment on the matter when questioned at an economic event. Former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, the former GOP South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, said the U.S. should immediately shoot down the balloon.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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