President-elect Donald Trump joined others in expressing concerns about mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey and other East Coast states, urging government officials to shoot down any unidentifiable aircraft.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump suggested that authorities are withholding information about the drones.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT,” the president-elect wrote.
Residents of Morris County, New Jersey, began reporting drone sightings last month, particularly at night. Since then, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have launched investigations to determine whether the sightings are actual drones, manned aircraft, or something else.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” the FBI and DHS said in a joint statement on Thursday. “Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.”
Despite this, reports of drone sightings continued to spread on Friday, with former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan posting a video showing “dozens of large drones” flying over his home on Thursday night. People in New York and Connecticut also reported seeing the aircraft.
Trump’s statement followed remarks from White House national security spokesperson John Kirby on Fox News’ The Story. Host Martha MacCallum questioned him about the government’s lack of explanation for the drone sightings.
“I’m not going to lie to you or to the American people, and I’m not going to say we know something when we don’t,” Kirby responded. “We’re taking that imagery seriously and doing the best we can to analyze it. We encourage people to come forward if they have additional sightings.”
MacCallum asked why the government didn’t just shoot one down to investigate.
“We don’t have enough conclusions to take that kind of a policy action,” Kirby said. “But let’s just assume for a minute, Martha, that we did. You’re not going to want to shoot something down where it could hit somebody’s house or hurt somebody.”
She also asked about President Joe Biden’s stance on the matter and whether experts like Elon Musk had been consulted.
Biden, Kirby explained, has tasked his team with investigating the issue and finding answers energetically.
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