U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Washington, on Feb. 14.Susan Walsh/The Associated Press
President Joe Biden and his team are considering him giving a speech soon to address issues around the high-altitude Chinese balloon and three other objects shot down by U.S. fighter jets, a source familiar with discussions said on Wednesday.
The idea is for Biden to give the speech before departing early next week on a trip to Poland, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Biden has been under pressure from lawmakers to speak more extensively about the spate of flyovers by unidentified objects, which have baffled many Americans.
He has made few public comments about the situation, leaving it up to White House officials to talk about it.
Since an American fighter jet shot down a Chinese balloon on Feb. 4, three other objects have been downed over hard-to-reach areas – two in the frozen North and one whose debris plummeted into Lake Huron.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said on Tuesday that the U.S. intelligence community is considering the possibility that the trio of objects were tied to a commercial or otherwise benign purpose.
He said the United States still had no firm grasp on the origin of the three objects.
Biden has asked national security adviser Jake Sullivan to preside over a task force of various related agencies to come up with a set of guidelines on how to address unidentified objects going forward.
It is supposed to come up with some guidelines later this week and provide guidance on what circumstances should be considered before shooting down an unidentified object.
China said on Feb. 13 that U.S. high altitude balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since the beginning of 2022, drawing a swift denial from Washington.
Reuters