The news comes after the U.S. military shot down a Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, seven days after it was allowed to drift across the continental United States.
The White House said that Biden followed the advice of the Pentagon and top military leaders not to shoot the craft down over the U.S. in case it caused civilian casualties and other collateral damage.
US President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on February 4, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
RUBIO SAYS BIDEN WAITING TO AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT CHINESE BALLOON A ‘DERELICTION OF DUTY’
Biden administration officials' claimed that Chinese surveillance balloons also briefly transited the continental U.S. at least three times during the Trump administration.
Photos taken in Aynor, SC of the Chinese spy balloon shot down. (Fox News)
Photos taken in Aynor, SC of the Chinese spy balloon shot down. (Fox News)
But Trump and top national security officials from his administration said that did not occur and criticized the Biden administration for spreading disinformation.
"This never happened. It would have never happened," Trump told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning, adding that Beijing "respected us greatly" under his leadership.
"It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately," Trump said. "It's disinformation."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump claps as the crowd cheers him on during a rally in Washington Township, Michigan, U.S. April 2, 2022. (REUTERS/Emily Elconin)