Biden: ‘We’re gonna take care’ of spy balloon

President Joe Biden said Saturday his administration would handle a suspected Chinese spy balloon traversing the eastern United States.

“We’re gonna take care of it,” Biden said when asked by CNN whether the US would shoot down the balloon.

Biden has been discussing options with military brass since first being briefed on the balloon on Tuesday. His advisers warned against shooting it down over land because the debris could land on people or homes.

Biden was speaking on a tarmac in Syracuse, New York, where he is visiting family.

On Friday, the Pentagon said the balloon, which was first sighted over Montana on Thursday, did not pose a “military or political” threat. A defense official told CNN that US Northern Command was coordinating with NASA to determine the debris field if the balloon was to be shot down.

China’s Foreign Ministry has said the balloon entered US airspace by accident. But the State Department has said the presence of the balloon in US airspace was “a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred.”

The discovery of the balloon prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his highly anticipated diplomatic visit to China, saying the incident “created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip.”

This story has been updated with additional information.