Did a Chinese spy balloon enter the U.S. during the Trump administration?
From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a large high-altitude balloon operated by China was observed passing over Alaska and then the contiguous United States. On February 4, 2023, the U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast.
The U.S. believed this was a spy balloon gathering data. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed it was their balloon and attempted to deny it was a spy balloon saying,
"The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes."
When analyzing a statement, you should take the approach of believing what people tell you. This helps you to see exactly what they are saying. I believe it is a civilian airship. That doesn't mean it was not being used for military purposes. I believe the balloon was being used for research. Spying, the collecting of data, could be considered to be research. I believe the balloon was "mainly for meteorological purposes." The word "mainly" tells us the balloon was being used for other purposes as well.
Because this fiasco appeared to be an embarrassment for the U.S., the Biden administration was quick to point out that the same thing happened under the Trump administration.
In a statement, the Defense Department said,
"Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration."
President Trump denied this ever took place. The former National Security Advisor as well as the former Director of Intelligence also denied that Chinese balloons entered U.S. airspace during Trump's presidency. Even the General in charge of NORAD, the most sophisticated monitoring system on the planet, said they never saw any balloons fly across the U.S. But Biden says it happened. We must remember that when deceptive people have to come up with a number, they will often use the number "three."