No Regrets over Waiting to Shoot down Spy Balloon, even with News It Had Antennas

During an interview with Noticias Telemundo on Thursday, President Joe Biden stated that he doesn’t regret failing to insist on bringing down the Chinese spy balloon even in light of news that the balloon was equipped with antennas and stated that the military “made a wise decision. They shot it down over water.”

Host Julio Vaqueiro asked, “Let me ask you about the Chinese balloon. … Now that we know what we know, that the balloon had antennas and a communication system, do you regret not having insisted on bringing it down sooner?”

Biden answered, “No. I think that the expert[s], the intelligence community, the defense community, they’ve forgotten more about it than you or I know. I said I wanted it shot down as soon as possible and they were worried about the damage that could be done even in a big state like Montana. This thing was gigantic. What happened if it came down and hit a school in a rural area? … So, I told them as soon as they could shoot it down, shoot it down. They made a wise decision. They shot it down over water. They’re recovering most of the parts.”