After a weekend of loud, incessant and nonsensical Republican criticism of President Joe Biden for not taking pictures down the three college bus size Chinese language spy balloon when it might have harm the most individuals, Republicans are sputtering to elucidate why Trump didn’t know that at the least three Chinese language balloons transited the U.S. through the Trump administration.

Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz was outraged to study that a number of Chinese language balloon incidents have occurred previously few years and weren’t shot down.

At 10:39 AM · Feb 5, 2023 he tweeted:

“The Workplace of the Secretary of Protection has knowledgeable my workplace that a number of Chinese language balloon incidents have occurred previously few years – together with over FLorida. (sic)

Why weren’t they shot down?”

One minute later:

“And in response to a number of Trump Admin nationwide safety officers – they had been by no means knowledgeable of those intrusions by the Pentagon.”

Waltz is an enormous Trump supporter who voted in opposition to impeaching the previous president for inciting the rebel, saying “The president loves this nation. He doesn’t need violence.”

That could be a patently false assertion, Trump incited violence on his personal behalf in hopes of reaching a self-coup and Trump loves himself and what energy can get him far more than he loves this nation.

At any charge, this declare that Trump by no means knew is being hawked throughout conservative media.

After U.S. intelligence assessed that Chinese language spy balloons traveled over the U.S. at the least 3 times through the Trump administration, Fox Information wrote: “Trump and his prime protection and nationwide safety officers instructed Fox Information Digital it by no means occurred and that they had been by no means briefed on any Chinese language spy balloons.”

‘It by no means occurred.’ That’s a typical Trump administration declare. A extra correct strategy to phrase this if it had been true is ‘We weren’t conscious that this occurred.’ However no, as a result of it’s Trump, it’s denying the likelihood after which instantly pivoting to blaming another person. Nobody instructed them. It wasn’t their job to know something.

It was their job to guard the U.S., so questions must be requested.

One way or the other the oldsters over in Trumpland appear to suppose that this makes all of it higher:

The official instructed Fox Information that “this data was found after the [Trump] administration left.”

“They went undetected,” the official instructed Fox Information Digital.

The truth that three balloons glided by undetected through the Trump administration isn’t an awesome protection. A minimum of one in all these balloons flew over Florida and Texas.

The declare that this was detected after the Trump administration left means that it’s doable somebody in Protection knew, and selected to not inform prime folks within the Trump administration.

The query stays: Why didn’t the Trump administration find out about these at the least three spy balloons.

The excellent news is within the DOD information transient is that “U.S. officers took steps to guard in opposition to the balloon’s assortment of delicate data, mitigating its intelligence worth to the Chinese language. The senior protection official mentioned the restoration of the balloon will allow U.S. analysts to look at delicate Chinese language gear.”

Now to a sprinkling of the completely bonkers takes by conservatives: