It's ok if you're not surprised to learn that the Biden administration was well aware of the massive Chinese spy balloon traversing the United States before the good people of Montana spotted it and called it out.
According to the Daily Wire, the Biden administration, as it should have been, was aware of the surveillance attack but reportedly decided not to mention that little tidbit to the American public so as to not disrupt a trip to China for diplomatic talks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Specifically, the Biden administration knew the Chinese spy balloon was hovering over Idaho on Jan. 28 but decided against mentioning it.
The balloon interrupted essentially all cable and network news cycles as live video of the sophisticated surveillance craft poured in across social media and on televisions.
The Biden administration took a massive beating in the PR department as pressure mounted from all levels to shoot the balloon down. Biden's top military advisers reportedly didn't want that to happen over U.S. territory, citing dangers to civilians and infrastructure below.
However, it appears as if the real reason the Biden administration botched its response to the CCP spy balloon was because it would have created intense tensions as Blinken was set to fly to the communist nation for talks.
On Saturday, the Biden administration reversed course and greenlit the authorization to destroy the balloon given that it had floated over the Atlantic Ocean after it crossed the Carolinas.
🚨#BREAKING: Incredible HD footage of the Chinese surveillance balloon being shot down
🚨#MyrtleBeach l #SC
Watch incredible HD video of the moment when the Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down by a single missile from an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base pic.twitter.com/KjwTrgcvcb
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 4, 2023
Blinken's trip to China was ultimately canceled.
The Daily Wire noted:
In the end, Biden’s efforts to conceal information about the balloon to save Blinken’s China trip failed. On Friday, Blinken said his team concluded “conditions were not conducive” for him to continue with a planned visit to China this weekend.
Blinked added that he believes it was an "irresponsible act and that the PRC’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions we were prepared to have."
The Chinese tried to downplay the existence of the balloon and at one point tried to claim it was simply a weather balloon that had strayed off course.
A second spy balloon was spotted over Latin America, though not much else is known about it, according to Business Insider.
Let's hope that next time we choose to protect our sovereignty over a diplomat's luxury travel trip to another country.