Fox host Martha MacCallum can’t believe John Kirby’s outrageous response to drone question

Fox host Martha MacCallum was shocked at how little National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby could offer when asked about the growing drone crisis.

In a tense interview, the Fox News host interviewed the White House official as she sought answers about the large number of drones recently spotted over New Jersey.

Yet Kirby, a 61-year-old retired Navy admiral, struggled to provide clear answers to the bizarre and alarming sightings plaguing the country.

MacCallum boldly opened the interview by referring to a shocking claim the 61-year-old official made during an earlier White House briefing, in which he dismissed more than 3,000 reports of “car-sized” drones as “misidentifications.”

“A lot of people were unhappy about that comment you made yesterday and felt like you were telling people they were crazy or that they didn’t know what they were seeing with their own eyes,” MacCallum said.

Kirby stumbled over his response and seemingly avoided giving a direct answer, claiming “that’s the furthest thing I would ever do.”

“I was simply repeating what the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have told us about what they have been able to confirm. We have not been able to confirm everything. I mentioned that many of the confirmed sightings appear to be piloted aircraft. I didn’t say them all,” Kirby said.

Then he added, “There are certainly some that we haven’t succeeded in, and that we don’t know the answer to.”

MacCallum then turned around and showed Kirby footage of a drone sighting captured by a New Jersey resident, but he couldn’t even look at the photographic evidence claiming he turned off the monitor to “avoid distraction.”

MacCallum highlighted the absurdity of the situation, asking how a former admiral and current top White House official could ignore clear images of the peculiar flying objects.

Instead, MacCallum described the image to Kirby, who continued to claim ignorance.

‘I can describe it to you. It’s big. It has a white bar going through the center. The right side is half-lit white at the top and red at the bottom. The other side is green,” she said.

‘You are a former soldier yourself. You are an admiral. You are the White House National Security Communications Advisor. I’m sure you’ve seen some of these images. What are we looking at?’ she asked pointedly.

Kirby replied, “It’s hard for me to tell you, Martha. We don’t actually know.’

Later in the interview, MacCallum cleverly revisited last year’s Chinese spy balloon sighting, which President Biden showed floating across the country before ultimately shooting it down.

MacCallum stated that the Biden administration was aware of the balloon’s intrusion into US airspace before widespread reporting, but they ignored the threat.

‘Why don’t we know, John? That’s the point. Why doesn’t the US government know this? It seems silly. It looks a lot like the Chinese spy balloon,” she asked Kirby.

“I wish I could tell you exactly why we don’t have an answer for you here on the afternoon of December 13,” Kirby said.

He went on to explain that the government is “working very hard,” without providing any details on how they are “confirming” the contents.

“I can tell you that we’re working on this very, very hard because we want to answer those questions the same way the people of New Jersey want answers to them,” Kirby responded.

The brash Fox host then criticized Kirby for how the presidential administration was able to boast a whopping $824 billion defense budget but fail to provide simple answers to supposed threats to U.S. airspace.

“We spend $824 billion on defense. We have the largest intelligent capacity in the world. How can you stand there and say to the country, ‘Gosh, damn, we just don’t know what these are,'” she asked.

Kirby once again claimed ignorance and responded, “I’m not going to lie to you or the American people, and I’m not going to say we know something when we don’t.”

Kirby continued to insist that National Security does not have all the answers but is trying to confirm “every observation.”

“Why don’t we just take one down and find out what’s going on?” MacCallum asked straight out.

Kirby claimed that national security had not drawn enough conclusions to shoot down the reported drones. He also cited fears for public safety.

“Well, okay, the idea of ​​taking something down, again, you want to be concerned about public safety,” Kirby responded.

“First of all, we don’t have enough conclusions to turn this into a policy action. But let’s assume for a moment, Martha, that it is. I mean, you don’t want to shoot something where it could hit someone’s house or hurt someone.”

Kirby later assured MacCallum that the president “has directed the team” to investigate the drones.

In a statement issued Thursday, Kirby said the investigation has not yet revealed any illegal activity.

“On the contrary, upon review of the available images, it appears that many of the reported sightings are in fact manned aircraft being operated legally,” Kirby said.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security also issued a statement saying there is no threat to national security or public safety from the drone sightings, many of which are “manned aircraft operating lawfully.”