President Joe Biden has insisted that the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US was “no major violation” despite its ability to collect Americans’ communications.
“It’s not a major infraction. Look, the total amount of intelligence gathering done by every country around the world is overwhelming,” the 80-year-old told Noticias Telemundo on Thursday night.
His comments came just hours after the State Department said the airship shot down over the weekend was part of a vast Beijing surveillance network.
The balloon had multiple antennas likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications, and flew over military bases carrying US missiles.
Biden admitted China sending 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 “no major violation” despite its ability to collect Americans’ communications
In this image provided by the FBI, special agents assigned to the evidence response team process footage recovered from the high-altitude balloon off the coast of South Carolina
The President faced questions from Republicans about why the balloon was allowed to transit 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 power.
Air Force jets shot down the balloon on Saturday, sparking public outcry over Beijing’s spy tactics.
It was first spotted on January 28 as it crossed US territory, flew briefly over Canada and then traversed several states in the continental US before crashing on February 4.
Biden gave the order to shoot it down last Wednesday, but defense officials warned 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 was still submerged Thursday, according to FBI officials who briefed reporters on the salvage.
“It is very early for us in this process and the evidence that has been secured and presented to the FBI is extremely limited,” an official said.
In the interview, Biden also dismissed polls showing concerns about his age as he considers running for a second term.
China’s “spy balloon” that has unsettled millions of Americans is part of a larger global surveillance plan by Beijing’s authoritarian government, a report said Wednesday
A Navy 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 had “no idea” if a race against 44-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be any different than another race against former President Donald Trump.
“Listen, do you know of any polls that are accurate these days?” he asked Noticias Telemundo’s Julio Vaqueiro during a brief session conducted during the President’s visit to Tampa, Florida.
He told Vaqueiro not to hold him to the number, “but I think you have to make like 51 calls to get one through. And ask any pollster how accurate they think their polls are,” Biden said.
‘But look, I may run away, I’ll be beaten. And if I run, I win,” the president said, adding that his ability to win or not didn’t affect his decision. “That’s not the basis on which I make the judgment,” he said.
When asked if he has made a decision to run, Biden gave Vaqueiro the same answer he gave to 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 paying no attention to the developing Republican field.
“I have no idea,” he replied when Vaqueiro asked if there was a difference in running against Trump or DeSantis.
“No I am serious. I have no idea,” Biden added.
Vaqueiro then specified whether 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 of working.”
“We are very early in this process and the evidence that has been secured and presented to the FBI is extremely limited,” said an FBI official
The suspected Chinese spy balloon crossed several US states before being shot down on Saturday
“But I really don’t know. I never decided to run or not to run depending on who the opponent will be,” the president added.
Trump, who announced in November that he would be running again in the Republican presidential primary, has launched a series of attacks on DeSantis, a former political ally who has built a national profile by partially adopting “woke” liberal politics has.
DeSantis has yet to announce if he’s aiming for the White House.
Trump’s former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is expected to announce her offer next week, while Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is also heading to the early primary states.
During the brief interview, Biden also denied that plans for mass deportations of non-Mexicans back to Mexico were in the works, it was reported Wednesday.
“What you just said is completely untrue,” Biden told Vaqueiro.
He added, “I don’t think we have to do that” after Title 42 was repealed because he believed migrants from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba were using the government’s program that allowed them to legally to enter the USA.
On a lighter note, Biden said he would watch the Super Bowl at home because First Lady Jill Biden told him it would create too much of a problem if he saw it live.
dr Biden, a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan, plans to attend.
He accepted Vaqueiro’s suggestion that he eat “guacamole” and “chocolate ice cream” during the game.
And he also admitted that his Spanish remains poor.
‘Terrible, but Jill’s trying to learn. She does,” said the President.
He recalled the late Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen telling him, “You know, I think you’re going to be president someday… But if you want to be, you’ve got to learn to speak Spanish,” he said biden