Schumer: U.S. Intel Believes Two Objects Shot Down Over Canada, Alaska Were Balloons
Sorry to put a damper on anyone’s plans to welcome our alien overlords, but according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. intelligence believes that the two objects shot down over North America this weekend were balloons with terrestrial origins.
Schumer said he was briefed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Saturday night and was told the two objects spotted 40,000 feet above Canada and Alaska were balloons. This comes on the heels of another spy balloon that traveled over the U.S. until the military shot it down six miles off the coast of South Carolina, although the latest balloons were smaller than the first.
“The bottom line is for until a few months ago, we didn’t know of these balloons. Our intelligence and our military did not know. This went as far back as President Trump, at least three times,” Schumer said during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s This Week.
“Were these balloons Friday and Saturday night?” host George Stephanopoulos asked.
“They believe they were, yes, but much smaller than the first one,” Schumer said. “Both of those — one over Canada, one over Alaska — were at 40,000 feet. Immediately it was determined that that’s a danger to commercial aircraft which also fly at 40,000 feet. And so the second one, in cooperation with the Canadians, the first one with the Americans, took it down. And that’s appropriate.”
Speaking about the larger spy balloon discovered earlier last week, which the military did not want to shoot down over land, Schumer added, “The first balloon, there was a much different rationale [for waiting to shoot it down] which I think was the appropriate rationale. We got enormous intelligence information from surveilling the balloon as it went over the United States.”
“Didn’t get the Chinese get enormous intelligence as well?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“They could have been getting it anyway,” Schumer replied. “But we have to know what they’re doing, OK? And we don’t know exactly, but we got a lot of that. And more importantly, by shooting it down over water, U.S. waters, only a six miles out from South Carolina, we’re going to probably be able to piece together this whole surveillance balloon, and know exactly what’s going on. So that’s a huge coup for the United States.”
Stephanopoulos next probed Schumer about China’s response, asking if the nation will have to shut down the balloon program now that it has been uncovered. “Look, I think the Chinese were humiliated. I think the Chinese were caught lying,” Schumer said. “And I think it’s a real step back for them, yes. I think they’re probably going to have to get rid of it or do something, because they look really bad.”
“They’re not just doing the United States,” the senator added. “This is a crew of balloons. We saw one in South America. They’ve probably been all over the world.”
