‘A Huge National Embarrassment’: Trump Intel Chief Blasts Biden Over Chinese Spy Balloon
Harold Hutchison on February 6, 2023
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe blasted the Biden administration over the handling of a Chinese spy balloon’s transit across the United States during a Monday afternoon appearance on Fox Business Network.
“Unless or until, Larry, someone tells me or shows me how that is remotely close to a transcontinental spy operation that went on for 100 continuous hours over four days, with a flight path that went over ICBM sites, that went over the home of U.S. Strategic Command, that went over the home of the B-2 bomber, Whiteman Air force Base, that went over Oak Ridge National Laboratories and then left the country over the ports of South Carolina which would be important parts of our supply distribution network if there were ever a conflict with China over Taiwan,” Ratcliffe told host Larry Kudlow after the Fox Business host asked him about the Biden administration claiming balloons had flown over Texas and Florida during Donald Trump’s presidency.
The United States Air Force shot down the balloon, which China claimed was a civilian meteorological research platform that went off course, off the coast of South Carolina Saturday. A similar balloon appeared over Latin America, the Department of Defense confirmed Friday.
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“So you know, you know, unless and until the Biden administration has evidence that something remotely similar to what just happened this week, I’m not convinced this is anything other than red herring talk to try and distract from what I have said, and continue to say, was an unprecedented national security blunder,” Ratcliffe added, noting that had a similar situation happened in China, Xi Jinping would have been deposed within a week.
Ratcliffe claimed the Biden administration’s refusal to confront China on multiple issues led to the incident, adding that he believed the intrusion was deliberate.
“This is an administration that has not confronted them on one million dead Americans killed by a virus in China. This is an administration that has not confronted them on over 100,000 Americans who died from fentanyl come from precursor chemicals coming directly from China,” Ratcliffe said. “The list goes on and on. The failure or unwillingness of the Biden administration to confront China about any national security concerns, why wouldn’t you push the envelope? Why wouldn’t you see how far you could get?”
“In this case it is very possible, Larry, that they got both, that they accomplished a huge national embarrassment and an incredibly massively successful intelligence surveillance operation,” Ratcliffe said.
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