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President Joe Biden has insisted that the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US was “not a major breach”, despite its ability to collect communications from Americans.
It’s not a major violation. Look, the total amount of intelligence gathering that is happening in every country in the world is staggering,” the 80-year-old told Telemundo News on Thursday night.
His comments came just hours after the State Department said the plane shot down over the weekend was part of a vast Beijing surveillance network.
The balloon had multiple antennas that were likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications and was flying over military bases housing US missiles.
Biden has admitted that China’s shipment of the balloon was a “violation of international law”, and is now said to be considering a response.
President Joe Biden has insisted that the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US was “not a major breach”, despite its ability to collect communications from Americans.
In this photo provided by the FBI, FBI special agents assigned to the Evidence Response Team process material recovered from the high-altitude balloon off the coast of South Carolina, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at the FBI’s laboratory. FBI in Quantico, Virginia.
The president has faced questions from Republicans about why the balloon was allowed to traverse the United States and some of its military bases for days before it was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
US intelligence links the program directly to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s main military force.
Air Force jets shot down the balloon, sparking public outrage over Beijing’s spy tactics on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina.
It was first detected crossing the US territory on January 28, briefly passing over Canada, and then traversing several continental US states before being shot down on February 4.
Biden gave the order to take it down on Wednesday of last week, but defense officials warned that it would be safer to do so when the falling debris no longer posed a risk to Americans on the ground.
Most of the debris is still underwater as of Thursday, according to FBI officials who briefed reporters on the recovery.
“It is very early for us in this process, and the evidence that has been recovered and brought to the FBI is extremely limited,” an official said.
In the interview, Biden also dismissed polls showing there were concerns about his age as he contemplates running for a second term.
China’s ‘spy balloon’ that has unnerved millions of Americans is part of a larger global surveillance plot by the authoritarian government in Beijing, a new report claimed Wednesday.
A Marine, a Sailor assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 conducts a search for debris off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
He also said Thursday that he has “no idea” whether running against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 44, would be any different than another race against former President Donald Trump.
‘Look, do you know of any polls that are accurate these days?’ he asked Julio Vaqueiro of Noticias Telemundo during a brief meeting held during the president’s visit to Tampa, Florida.
He told Vaqueiro not to withhold the number, “but I think you have to make something like 51 calls to get through to one.” And ask any pollster how accurate he thinks his poll is,” Biden said.
‘But look, it could be that, you know, I run, I get beat up. And if I run, I win,” the president said, adding the caveat that his ability to win or not did not influence his decision. “That’s not the basis on which I make the judgment,” he said.
Asked if he’s made the decision to run, Biden gave Vaqueiro the same answer he gave PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff on Wednesday: Not yet.
“I’m just not ready to do it,” he explained.
Biden also tried to give the impression that he was not paying attention to the developing Republican field.
“I have no idea,” he replied when Vaqueiro asked if there was a difference between running against Trump or DeSantis.
‘Not seriously. I have no idea,” Biden added.
Vaqueiro specified then if the president thought there would be a difference “in terms of polarization.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Biden replied. ‘Because I think they have a similar modus operandi, a similar way that they work.’
“It is very early in this process for us, and the evidence that has been recovered and brought to the FBI is extremely limited,” an FBI official said.
The suspected Chinese spy balloon crossed several US states before being shot down on Saturday.
But I really don’t know. I have never decided to run or not based on who the opponent will be,” added the president.
Trump, who announced in November that he would run again in the Republican presidential primary, has been launching a series of attacks on DeSantis, a former political ally who has built a national profile in part by taking on “woke” liberal policies.
DeSantis has not yet announced if he will seek the White House.
Trump’s former ambassador to the UN. Nikki Haley is expected to announce her candidacy next week, while South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott also heads to the first primary states.
During the brief interview, Biden also denied that there were any plans in place for mass deportations of non-Mexicans to Mexico. as The Washington Post had reported on Wednesday.
“What you just said is completely incorrect,” Biden told Vaqueiro, who had outlined the Post report.
Biden said, ‘I don’t think we have to do that’ after Title 42 is lifted because he believed migrants from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba were making use of the administration’s program that allowed them to legally enter The USA. .
On a lighter note, Biden said he would watch the Super Bowl at home, because first lady Jill Biden told him he would create too much trouble if he attended.
Dr. Biden, a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, plans to attend.
He welcomed Vaqueiro’s suggestion to eat ‘guacamole’ and ‘chocolate chip ice cream’ during the match.
And he also admitted that his Spanish is still poor.
‘Terrible, but Jill is trying to learn it too. She is doing it,’ said the president.
He remembered how the late Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen had told him: ‘You know, I think you’re going to be president one day… But if you’re going to be, you have to learn to speak Spanish. Biden said.