OAN Deven Berryhill
UPDATED 6:00 PM PT – Thursday, February 16, 2023
President Joe Biden has said that the last three Chinese spy balloons were “benign” tied to “private companies, recreation or research institutions.” He cited that their use was most likely for “studying weather or other scientific research.”
Almost one week after the first Chinese balloon sighting, Biden broke his silence on Thursday stating “I gave the order to shoot it down as soon as it would be safe to do so.”
“The military advised against shooting it down over land because of the sheer size of it. It was the size of multiple buses and posed a risk to people on the ground,” said Biden in a White House press conference.
🚨JUST IN: Here's the summary of Biden's speech on the Chinese spy balloon and the unidentified flying objects:
We shot down a Chinese spy balloon, freaked out and shot a few more flying objects, likely weather balloons. We're not sorry. pic.twitter.com/uH51yanxBZ
