Suspected spy balloon floats over Montana
Suspected Chinese spy balloon floats over Montana. China says it is investigating the reports.
Some Republican politicians and conservative pundits on Twitter argued that even a Chinese spy balloon hovering over Montana is not as dangerous as the app TikTok is to American national security.
The Pentagon has been tracking a Chinese surveillance balloon over the continental United States, in news that shocked defense officials and lawmakers.
Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing on Thursday afternoon that the balloon "does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground" because it is flying high above commercial airspace.
A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. (Chase Doak/via Reuters)
It is a claim that Republicans in Montana, the state over which the spy balloon was first spotted, have publicly pushed back on.
"Shoot. It. Down. The Chinese spy balloon is clear provocation. In Montana we do not bow. We shoot it down. Take the shot," Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., a former Navy SEAL, tweeted Thursday.
But some on Twitter argued that there was a far greater security threat to America than a Chinese spy balloon: TikTok.
"First, shoot it down. Second, [TikTok] is a much greater security risk to America. Shut it down," former Wisconsin governor and Young America's Foundation president Scott Walker tweeted Thursday.
GOP RIPS BIDEN AFTER SUSPECTED CHINESE SPY BALLOON FOUND FLOATING OVER THE US
A woman folds a flag after posing for a picture at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on September 4, 2022. (Photo by Noel Celis / AFP) (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Florida State Rep. Carolina Amesty wrote that the Chinese spy balloon underscored the "seriousness of the national security threat our country is facing."
She added that the news encouraged her to file a bill to ban "TikTok, which is a front for the Chinese Communist Party, on Florida state devices."
Calls for a TikTok ban are growing in Congress and even on college campuses as state lawmakers call the app "digital fentanyl" and a threat to children.
More than half of the country have already banned TikTok from government devices.
"The more concerning Chinese Spy Balloon here is TikTok," journalist Arin Waichulis wrote.
"Sooo... everyone freaking out about one Chinese spy balloon... when over 80 million people in the US have TikTok on their phones... got it" comedian Tim Young pointed out.
"The more concerning Chinese Spy Balloon here is TikTok," journalist Arin Waichulis wrote.
The Biden administration has advised President Joe Biden to refrain from shooting the spy balloon down because the "debris could pose a safety threat to people on the ground," according to CNN.
Fox News’ Adam Sabes, Liz Friden, Jennifer Griffin and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
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