Sen. Mitt Romney praised Joe Biden for waiting until the China spy balloon had traversed the entire United States before shooting it down.
The spy balloon, which was gathering sensitive data from top U.S military sites, appeared to have done its job before Biden decided it was time to shoot it down.
Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday defended President Biden’s reaction to the balloon and said he agreed with the president’s decision to shoot it down after it had crossed the entire U.S.
Despite the fact the China spy balloon had self-detonating explosives and was collecting sensitive data from top military sites, Romney said he was satisfied with the classified briefing on the incident.
“My questions were satisfactorily answered and I believe the administration, the president, our military and our intelligence agencies acted skillfully and with care,” Romney said.
“At the same time, their capabilities are extraordinarily impressive,” Romney told reporters after the briefing.
Romney himself received praise from former Mike Pence staffer and Trump turncoat Olivia Troye, “Good on Sen. Mitt Romney for standing up for our military & intelligence capabilities. The narratives across the Republican Party regarding China & the spy balloon were disingenuous partisan potshots devoid of understanding of our overall strategic intelligence picture.”
Romney also received praise from Occupy Democrats, who tweeted to their 500,000 followers, “BREAKING: Sen. Mitt Romney breaks from his party to praise Joe Biden’s decision to wait to shoot the Chinese spy balloon over the ocean so that debris wouldn’t rain down on America, says Biden “acted skillfully and with care.” RT IF YOU THINK THAT ROMNEY IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger weighed in on Romney and Biden’s side, “There is going to be quite a bit that comes out, I think, on what we were able to do and some of the assets used (think U2, etc).”
Defense officials said shooting the balloon before it reached American soil also risked losing valuable intelligence – in frozen or deep-water areas where recovery operations would be impossible.
But Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana rejected those arguments.
“They could’ve taken that balloon down, that spy balloon, and the greatest risk would’ve been hitting a cow, a prairie dog or an antelope,” he said.
“I think this was, as much as anything, a test of this administration and their response to an invasion of our sovereign airspace, and the Biden administration failed by being indecisive,” he added.
READ MORE: Top Geopolitical Expert Issues Warning to America: China Is Preparing for War at ‘Any Time’
