I Haven’t Seen… 🎈

Pentagon first shoots down Chinese surveillance balloon and then shoots down  GOP balloon narrative. https://t.co/6aYQUJZ4eC

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 5, 2023

...a GOP freak out come apart so completely and so quickly in a long time.

 

Having grown used to low energy Trump coddling of Chinese balloons, China upset over Biden shot down pic.twitter.com/GzS0ODnLC1

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 5, 2023

As a plus, Biden pissed off the Chinese, something Trump never did (for all that nonsense of Trump being “tough”).

he authorized shooting it down over the water. she doesn’t understand time or water. sad. https://t.co/dtEgyAJcKS

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 5, 2023

And it was dropped in shallow water which should make recovery rather easy:

The salvage effort will be aided by the relatively shallow depth of the water the debris splashed down in (roughly 47 feet). The senior military official said the recovery effort could involve both divers and unmanned underwater vessels (UUVs).

— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2023

So now the question is:

Why did Trump keep his balloons a secret? https://t.co/5zIGdOj8A5

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 5, 2023

Well, it sure looks like @JoeBiden turned the tables by wisely leaving the Chinese spy balloon afloat long enough to gather information on its technology & capabilities, and then shot it down in a location where its hardware can be recovered. Impressive.

— Matt Angle (@LSPmatt) February 4, 2023

Notable: US officials say they were able to block the balloon from gathering intel during its overflight of the US, while the US military was able to turn the tables, so to speak, to gather intel on the balloon itself and its equipment.

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 4, 2023

No wonder China is pissed.