GOP Angry Over Biden's Stance on Chinese Spy Balloon

Chinese officials say the balloon is a "civilian airship' used for weather research that has gone off course.

They really want to burst that bubble.

A Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States is causing all kinds of static -- and not the kind you get from rubbing a balloon on your hair.

The high-altitude surveillance balloon was first spotted flying over Montana on Feb. 1 and U.S. officials said its flight path could take it over several sensitive sites.

Chinese officials have said the balloon was a “civilian airship” used mainly for weather research that deviated from its planned course.

A Pentagon spokesman said the balloon was “traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” according to CNN.

One unnamed official said senior military advisors have warned President Joe Biden against shooting it down due to fear the debris could pose a safety threat to people on the ground.

The political controversy went up, up, and away as Republicans lambasted Biden for not letting the air out of the invasive airbag.

Trump Says 'Shoot Down the Balloon'

"Maybe if the Biden Administration wasn’t so worried about banning your gas stoves, they would have seen this Chinese spy balloon coming," tweeted Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, repeating the false claim that the White House was gunning for stoves.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted that "Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately."

Greene, who has been known to promote conspiracy theories, also said "President Trump would have never tolerated this."

Trump, who is running for president again, went all caps on his Truth Social platform, saying "SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON."

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton called upon Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his upcoming trip to China, which he did on Feb. 3.

Cotton also said “ President Biden must answer why he has not secured U.S. airspace.”

In all fairness, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, tweeted that “we must protect the sovereignty of America and the privacy of Americans from foreign espionage.”

“As a member of the new Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the US & China, I am alarmed by reports from the Pentagon about the Chinese spy balloon surveilling the US," he said.