Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too

[Sleepr2]

25 minutes ago, SnowRider said:

No doubt 

[Badger**]

Now what, looks like everybody's getting into the ACT. 

[Cop Watch]

You know the press is going to be dining out on this for the next ten news cycles.

There's just one problem, though -- the claim that Trump saw three Chinese balloons traverse through the U.S. on his watch and did nothing is ... deflating fast.

First, we have an explicit denial from someone who would have known.

According to the Daily Mail:

The revelation startled Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense, and comes as Trump and other Republicans claimed he would have shot down the balloon while calling on Joe Biden to resign over the stalled attack on the craft. 

...and...

Esper told CNN that he was 'surprised' by the Pentagon's statement, saying he was never told about Chinese surveillance balloons entering the US when he served between July 2019 to November 2020. 

'I don't ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,' Esper said, adding that 'I would remember that for sure.'

He wasn't the only one. There's also him:

Tonight, it's been reported that at least 3 Chinese spy balloons crossed the U.S. during Trump's administration.

Yesterday afternoon, Mike Pompeo told Fox News he was not aware of this happening "during our four years in office" to "the best of my knowledge." pic.twitter.com/TczYr9lBXY

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 5, 2023

It should be noted that neither Esper, nor former CIA director and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are on palsy terms with Trump these days. Esper was fired in some dispute near the end of the Trump presidency and Pompeo is a potential rival for the presidency in 2024. It's not like there's a tag team thing going on with all of them, given that they don't speak with each other. That makes them particularly credible as witnesses.

Here's a third witness:

BREAKING: Former ODNI John Ratcliffe just denied Biden admin claims Chinese sent 3 balloons into US on Trump's watch: "I can refute it. It didn't happen." He said this was first time and "the damage is incalculable." He also suggested Biden & his nat'l security team "compromised"

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) February 5, 2023

And breaking news, a fourth:

Biden’s DoD is shamelessly using an anonymous source to say that Chinese balloons flew over the US under Trump - and the Trump team allowed it.

It is a lie. We never heard this - ever.

Congress should demand @SecDef tell the truth. Shame on @JakeSullivan46.

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 5, 2023

There's a fifth reason the story is falling apart, too, from journalist Paul Sperry -- that a Pentagon spokesman actually contradicted this report. I can't find the tweet but I will post it when I do.

A sixth reason is a potential self-own from the Pentagon. With Esper and Pompeo denying they ever heard about this, could it be that the Pentagon knew about this and never told Trump or any of his men? That's pretty much their pattern, what with Gen. Milley caught calling up his Chinese counterparts in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots and assuring them that he'd give them good notice should Trump decide to launch a war with them. The insubordination of the Pentagon to any commander in chief is getting to be a significant story.

Here's a seventh one, and again it's breaking news:

FACT: THIS IS BLATANTLY UNTRUE & EXACTLY WHY NO ONE TRUSTS THE AMERICAN LEFT-WING #PROPAGANDA MEDIA!
There Were Incidents Where Chinese Balloons Dtifted NEAR US Airspace BUT NOT OVER THE CONTINENTAL U.S.
100% LIES!!!! https://t.co/WQfZqO0frZ

— John Basham 🇺🇲 (@JohnBasham) February 5, 2023

The very nature of these balloon flights were close to but not in the United States, which makes this a different kettle of fish. Here's the deets on the one that brazenly went over the U.S. and its most sensitive military installations, from a New York Post explainer that ran in that paper on Feb. 3:

Balloon sightings happen with some frequency.

In its January report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena — Pentagon jargon for UFOs — the Defense Department noted 163 of 366 reports (or 44%) could be “characterized as balloon or balloon-like entities,” though it’s unclear where the entities were spotted and from what countries they came.

While this is not the first time a foreign spy balloon has floated through American airspace, there are several reasons why officials say this one stands out.

First, the timing of the balloon’s flight is curious, as one State Department official noted: “This is the first time it’s happened on the eve of a planned secretary of state visit” to China. 

It was also spotted the same week the US confirmed a deal to increase its military presence in the Philippines, placing pressure on neighboring China and bringing US forces closer to Taiwan. 

UPDATE: And here's an eighth:

Trump calls out Biden on his Chinese balloon "disgrace." pic.twitter.com/ndBJmCF6jG

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) February 5, 2023

[Anler]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRGygVD5/

[Rod]

Chinese spy barroon!

[Sleepr2]

3 hours ago, Cop Watch said:

You know the press is going to be dining out on this for the next ten news cycles.

There's just one problem, though -- the claim that Trump saw three Chinese balloons traverse through the U.S. on his watch and did nothing is ... deflating fast.

First, we have an explicit denial from someone who would have known.

According to the Daily Mail:

The revelation startled Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense, and comes as Trump and other Republicans claimed he would have shot down the balloon while calling on Joe Biden to resign over the stalled attack on the craft. 

...and...

Esper told CNN that he was 'surprised' by the Pentagon's statement, saying he was never told about Chinese surveillance balloons entering the US when he served between July 2019 to November 2020. 

'I don't ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,' Esper said, adding that 'I would remember that for sure.'

He wasn't the only one. There's also him:

Tonight, it's been reported that at least 3 Chinese spy balloons crossed the U.S. during Trump's administration.

Yesterday afternoon, Mike Pompeo told Fox News he was not aware of this happening "during our four years in office" to "the best of my knowledge." pic.twitter.com/TczYr9lBXY

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 5, 2023

It should be noted that neither Esper, nor former CIA director and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are on palsy terms with Trump these days. Esper was fired in some dispute near the end of the Trump presidency and Pompeo is a potential rival for the presidency in 2024. It's not like there's a tag team thing going on with all of them, given that they don't speak with each other. That makes them particularly credible as witnesses.

Here's a third witness:

BREAKING: Former ODNI John Ratcliffe just denied Biden admin claims Chinese sent 3 balloons into US on Trump's watch: "I can refute it. It didn't happen." He said this was first time and "the damage is incalculable." He also suggested Biden & his nat'l security team "compromised"

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) February 5, 2023

And breaking news, a fourth:

Biden’s DoD is shamelessly using an anonymous source to say that Chinese balloons flew over the US under Trump - and the Trump team allowed it.

It is a lie. We never heard this - ever.

Congress should demand @SecDef tell the truth. Shame on @JakeSullivan46.

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 5, 2023

There's a fifth reason the story is falling apart, too, from journalist Paul Sperry -- that a Pentagon spokesman actually contradicted this report. I can't find the tweet but I will post it when I do.

A sixth reason is a potential self-own from the Pentagon. With Esper and Pompeo denying they ever heard about this, could it be that the Pentagon knew about this and never told Trump or any of his men? That's pretty much their pattern, what with Gen. Milley caught calling up his Chinese counterparts in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots and assuring them that he'd give them good notice should Trump decide to launch a war with them. The insubordination of the Pentagon to any commander in chief is getting to be a significant story.

Here's a seventh one, and again it's breaking news:

FACT: THIS IS BLATANTLY UNTRUE & EXACTLY WHY NO ONE TRUSTS THE AMERICAN LEFT-WING #PROPAGANDA MEDIA!
There Were Incidents Where Chinese Balloons Dtifted NEAR US Airspace BUT NOT OVER THE CONTINENTAL U.S.
100% LIES!!!! https://t.co/WQfZqO0frZ

— John Basham 🇺🇲 (@JohnBasham) February 5, 2023

The very nature of these balloon flights were close to but not in the United States, which makes this a different kettle of fish. Here's the deets on the one that brazenly went over the U.S. and its most sensitive military installations, from a New York Post explainer that ran in that paper on Feb. 3:

Balloon sightings happen with some frequency.

In its January report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena — Pentagon jargon for UFOs — the Defense Department noted 163 of 366 reports (or 44%) could be “characterized as balloon or balloon-like entities,” though it’s unclear where the entities were spotted and from what countries they came.

While this is not the first time a foreign spy balloon has floated through American airspace, there are several reasons why officials say this one stands out.

First, the timing of the balloon’s flight is curious, as one State Department official noted: “This is the first time it’s happened on the eve of a planned secretary of state visit” to China. 

It was also spotted the same week the US confirmed a deal to increase its military presence in the Philippines, placing pressure on neighboring China and bringing US forces closer to Taiwan. 

UPDATE: And here's an eighth:

Trump calls out Biden on his Chinese balloon "disgrace." pic.twitter.com/ndBJmCF6jG

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) February 5, 2023

Poor MCLiar 

[ArcticCrusher]

Treason

 

 

[Kivalo]

2 hours ago, ArcticCrusher said:

Treason

 

 

If this can be proven then heads need to roll. Jail terms handed out liberally, long jail terms. No way in hell should the military be thinking it can subvert the people and when they do they should be punished viciously.

[Skidooski]

It's like the ultimate Whatabout'ism thread    

[DriftBusta]

3 hours ago, Skidooski said:

It's like the ultimate Whatabout'ism thread    

even if this bullshit about balloons flying over our airspace while Trump was president was true, does that make it any less absurd that we would allow such a thing? I swear the inmates have taken over the asylum.  The stupidity among some in this forum is fucking breathtaking.

Edited February 7, 2023 by DriftBusta

[SnowRider]

It’s obvious some good people close to orange man saved us from more bad decisions and compulsive behavior.  Kudo’s to them.  3 million more people had it right the first time and 7 million more people had it right the second time.  Fuck anyone who voted for the orange POS 

[ArcticCrusher]

58 minutes ago, Kivalo said:

If this can be proven then heads need to roll. Jail terms handed out liberally, long jail terms. No way in hell should the military be thinking it can subvert the people and when they do they should be punished viciously.

Jack worked for US intel and has many contacts.  He would know and doesn't make false statements.

 

Does anyone actually believe Trump would have let that happen under his watch?

[ArcticCrusher]

59 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

It's like the ultimate Whatabout'ism thread    

Better to stick to the we let it spy on us so we could spy on it story. 

[Cold War]

58 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

It's like the ultimate Whatabout'ism thread    

There were more stories trending this morning  about Trumps balloon than the actual story.

[Sleepr2]

11 minutes ago, SnowRider said:

It’s obvious some good people close to orange man saved us from more bad decisions and compulsive behavior.  Kudo’s to them.  3 million more people had it right the first time and 7 million more people had it right the second time.  Fuck anyone who voted for the orange POS 

And another example of your hypocrisy 

[Mag6240]

36 minutes ago, Cold War said:

There were more stories trending this morning  about Trumps balloon than the actual story.

Thank you left wing media!  Dem Dems love themselves distractions...

[Highmark]

House ASC and Intel committee needs to start calling people to testify under oath.   If information like this was kept from the CiC heads should roll. 

[Skidooski]

1 hour ago, ArcticCrusher said:

Better to stick to the we let it spy on us so we could spy on it story. 

Get back to me when you know what the fuck you’re taking about. Ok Karen?  

[Skidooski]

1 hour ago, Cold War said:

There were more stories trending this morning  about Trumps balloon than the actual story.

Pretty wild how bad they’re running with that story instead of the current event. Very telling of this shitty administration 

[ArcticCrusher]

20 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

Get back to me when you know what the fuck you’re taking about. Ok Karen?  

  I see your stupidity hasn't peaked yet.

Fucking moron.

 

 

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

Get back to me when you know what the fuck you’re taking about. Ok Karen?  

Keep your head in the sheep

Morons fucking in the sand

You know what I mean 

[akvanden]

Clearly this was going undetected, regardless of administration. But of course, we can’t even rally together on what should easily be common ground. Let’s bicker, point fingers, and fight amongst ourselves instead. That will show them Chinese!

[ArcticCrusher]

7 minutes ago, akvanden said:

Clearly this was going undetected, regardless of administration. But of course, we can’t even rally together on what should easily be common ground. Let’s bicker, point fingers, and fight amongst ourselves instead. That will show them Chinese!

 

Nice try Karen.

 

 

[Guest]

[EvilBird]

2 hours ago, SnowRider said:

It’s obvious some good people close to orange man saved us from more bad decisions and compulsive behavior.  Kudo’s to them.  3 million more people had it right the first time and 7 million more people had it right the second time.  Fuck anyone who voted for the orange POS 

fuck anyone who voted for the POS kid sniffing pedo Joe Biden . 

Clearly Joe isnt in charge . Just a meat puppet for the weak minded.  Thats sadly probably a good thing