Yes, that was a Chinese spy balloon you saw in the Missouri skies Friday afternoon — as the Pentagon confirms our geopolitical rival has been conducting high-altitude surveillance over the U.S. in recent days. They didn’t shoot the thing down, they claimed, over fears of hurting citizens instead.
The airship was first spotted in Montana. But on Friday, the Chinese apparently decided to check out Missouri. Wonder what they thought of our parking lots and our amber waves of rednecks?
Naturally, there were plenty of spy balloon sightings and even a hot take or two. It was hard to say who this surveillance was better news for — former Congressman Lacy Clay, who found the story of his potential corruption suddenly bumped off the front page, or Missourah Republicans, who just love to talk shit about "Communist China." Newly announced candidate for Missouri Attorney General Will Scharf even managed to turn the event into an anti-Biden meme before the plane had finished flying above Clayton — suggesting the Chinese effort to divide these United States is working.
And where was Senator Josh Hawley, who won his first race with ugly PAC-funded attack ads linking his rival, then-state Senator Kurt Schaefer, to Chinese interests? It’s safe to say Hawley is not yet aware that the spy plane was surveilling Missourians. Remember, dude lives in Virginia.
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Not the actual Chinese spy balloon. (You can see actual pictures and video of the balloon below.)
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