President-elect Donald Trump said Monday the Biden administration knows the origin story behind the recent drone sightings that have concerned New Jersey residents but is choosing to “keep people in suspense.”
“The government knows what is happening,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago when asked to comment on the drone situation. “Look, our military knows where they took off from, if it’s a garage they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went.”
“And for some reason, they don’t want to comment. I think they’d be better off saying what it is,” he added. “Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense.”
In recent days, civilians and lawmakers have reported seeing an innumerable number of drones flying overhead at night, particularly in New Jersey and New York. They have implored the Biden administration to reveal what is going on, but government officials are not being forthcoming with important information.
Trump appeared confident that the drones were not sent by foreign adversaries based on the federal government’s inadequate response.
“If it was the enemy, they’d blast it out. Even if they were late, they’d blast it. Something strange is going on. For some reason, they don’t want to tell the people,” Trump said. He called for the outgoing administration and U.S. military to tell the truth.
Asked if he received an intelligence briefing on the mysterious drone sightings, Trump declined to comment.
On Friday, Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN there is no evidence of foreign involvement and that the drones pose no “threat” nor constitute “nefarious activity.” Mayorkas went on network television again over the weekend to try to allay the public’s concerns.
“There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” Mayorkas said on ABC News on Sunday. “And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings.”
The immigration official noted the Federal Aviation Administration allowed drones to fly at night, starting in September 2023, which could be a plausible reason for the uptick in sightings.
“That may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk. And so that is the reality,” Mayorkas continued.
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy received a briefing on the concentration of drones in the Northeast Sunday night. Murphy did not reveal any new information, but he said New Jersey is working with federal authorities. The Democratic governor asked President Joe Biden for more resources on Friday to better understand the developing situation.
During Monday’s press conference, Trump revealed the drones are flying over his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. The president-elect joked he won’t be spending the coming weekend there.