BREAKING: Trump says 'Shoot down the balloon!'

Former President Donald Trump on Friday called for the United States to shoot down the suspected Chinese "high-altitude surveillance balloon" that has been spotted flying over different states in recent days. 

"SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!," Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social.



Office of Naval Intelligence veteran and Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec agreed with the former president's assessment, writing, "You shoot down the balloon and launch bombers from Guam that's what you do when the homeland is threatened."

Stephen Miller, Trump's former senior advisor for policy and White House director of speechwriting, blamed current President Joe Biden's "weakness" for the decision to not shoot down the balloon.

"A Chinese spy balloon casually invading our air space for all to see, conducting day after day of espionage in broad daylight undisturbed, is a stark visual demonstration of Joe Biden’s crippling weakness and our excruciating national humiliation," he wrote on Twitter.

Brigadier General Pat Ryder announced on Thursday, "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now. The US government to include Norad, continues to track and monitor it closely."

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a meeting with senior Department of Defense leadership on Wednesday, deciding not to take military action due to "the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field."

Hours after Ryder made the announcement, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy demanded a Gang of Eight briefing, referring to the eight leaders within the United States Congress who are briefed on classified intelligence matters by executive branch officials.

McCarthy tweeted, "China’s brazen disregard for US sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent. I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing."

Canada also reported on Friday that they are monitoring "a potential second incident" involving a surveillance balloon in their airspace, but did not reveal who could be behind it. Canadian officials said they are working with the US to "safeguard Canada's sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats."

The Department of Defense has said there is no "significantly enhanced threat" of intelligence being compromised because they "know exactly where this balloon is and exactly where it's passing over."

Officials also said there was no danger to commercial flights as the balloon was "well above" higher than the altitude civilian planes fly at.

"The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years," Gen. Ryder said.

"Once the balloon was detected, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information."