Former President Donald Trump has vehemently denied recent reports that Chinese spy balloons flew over the United States during his time in office. In a statement published on his Truth Social platform, Trump labeled the reports as “FAKE DISINFORMATION” and claimed that China had “too much respect” to engage in such activities.

“The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace,” Trump wrote. “They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation — and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off the slow moving Biden fools.”

However, the Department of Defense has stated that Chinese spy balloons flew over the U.S. “at least three times” during Trump’s presidency. Trump allies argue that the previous flights were not as long nor did they fly over sensitive sites as the recent one.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials have confirmed that a Chinese spy balloon crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii four months ago. Fox News has also reported that at least one Chinese spy balloon flew over portions of Texas and Florida during the Trump administration, despite the former president’s denial.

The situation has sparked controversy and raised questions about the security and surveillance capabilities of foreign powers. It remains to be seen how the current administration will respond to this issue and address any potential threats to national security.

Several former Trump administration officials have come forward to dispute reports that Chinese spy balloons flew over the United States during the former president’s time in office. John Bolton, former National Security Adviser, stated that he was not aware of any such incidents during his tenure and that he had “never heard of any of that occurring before [he] joined in 2018.” Robert O’Brien, who served as National Security Adviser from 2019 to 2021, also confirmed that he had no knowledge of such activities.

Former Acting Director of National Intelligence, Ric Grenell, stated that during his deep dive into China’s spying activities and the origins of COVID, the issue of Chinese spy balloons never came up. John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence, also dismissed the claims, saying that the American people could easily refute them if they were true.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he had no recollection of Chinese surveillance balloons being brought to his attention while he was at the Pentagon. Chris Miller, former Acting Defense Secretary and Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, stated that he had never heard of such balloons while he was in government.

The Department of Defense has claimed that Chinese spy balloons flew over the US “at least three times” during Trump’s presidency. However, the lack of evidence and denial from several top officials of the previous administration cast doubt on the veracity of these reports.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)