The possibility that one of the unidentified aircraft the Biden administration shot down last week was a mere hobby balloon is drawing taunts from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
One of the objects shot down may have been a balloon launched by the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, which told Politico it went missing near Alaska the same day an F-22 jet shot down an unidentified craft in the same region. The cost of the balloon would have been around $10 to $15, while it apparently cost $400,000 for the missile that shot it down.
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"Nice job, Joe Biden," Hawley said on Twitter Friday.
Nice job, Joe Biden https://t.co/PCgQadKmy5
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) February 17, 2023
The object was one of three shot down last weekend amid heightened tensions with China after a suspected spy balloon traversed the United States earlier this month, floating over nuclear military sites in the process. A member of the Balloon Brigade told Politico the vague description officials gave of the object could fit the balloon they lost the same day.
“Think about it. We know where the balloon was off the coast of Alaska. We know where it was, if all was well,” the member said. “We know that it didn’t wake up that morning. We know [American forces] shot something down, and the thing they described as having shot down is not inconsistent with what we’re flying out there. So, that’s that.”
Biden said Thursday the objects were probably balloons and probably not for espionage.
Hawley condemned Biden for his slow reaction to the first balloon, as well as what he characterized as an overreaction to the other objects that weren't a threat.
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"Joe Biden let a Chinese spy balloon cross the entire U.S. Now he’s shooting down everything that flies. Why? Who knows. He apparently doesn’t. Either the Biden administration is lying to us or they’re totally and completely incompetent. Or both," he said earlier this week.
Senators had a classified briefing Tuesday about the objects that were shot down last weekend, with many calling on the Biden administration to be more transparent.