Biden administration scrambles to rewrite Chinese side of SOTU
President Joe Biden and his speechwriters will “likely rewrite” the Chinese portion of his State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday night, after China’s spy balloon was shot down last week after days of “violation of American airspace.
As Biden’s speechwriters try to help the president highlight a series of accomplishments during the State of the Union address this week, Axios noted that the president will try to be “nimble” and should ” “probably rewrite” its part on China, while the administration also deals with the threat of repercussions from Beijing for shooting down the spy balloon.
China will be an uninvited guest at President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night as he takes credit for a resilient economy, celebrates record unemployment and contemplates a stronger national agenda. wide. https://t.co/UX7Jasr66W
— Axios (@axios) February 5, 2023
On Thursday, American civilians discovered the spy balloon floating above their homes for the first time. After the news broke, a senior defense official said last week: “We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People’s Republic of China].”
Then, after days of floating around the continental United States, the military shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday morning as it hovered over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Caroline.
Residents of South Carolina filmed video footage of the spy balloon being fired from the sky on Saturday by the US military:
@RealUSC via Storyful
“This afternoon, under the direction of President Biden, US warplanes assigned to US Northern Command successfully brought down the high-altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over- above the waters off the coast of South Carolina in United States airspace,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement Saturday.
However, the China spy balloon and State of the Union address comes at a unique time in Biden’s administration.
US President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Chinese spy balloon, which has sparked bipartisan outrage, will eventually be added to the list of investigations the new Republican-controlled House hopes to have into the Biden administration.
House Republicans have planned a series of investigations into Biden, in addition to China. So the Chinese spy balloon finally adds fuel to the fire.
Despite all that, Axios noted that Biden, who is reportedly preparing to run for a second term, will want to use the speech to try to maintain his administration’s ability to work with China after Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in last November and agreed to have more channels for their officials to communicate more regularly.
John Kerry, Biden’s presidential special envoy for climate (SPEC) — a cabinet-level position that doesn’t require Senate confirmation — reportedly led climate talks with his Chinese counterpart, and the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently held a meeting with her Chinese counterpart. in Zürich.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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