President Joe Biden was poised to deliver his first State of the Union address on an unprecedentedly positive note; the country's economy boasted the lowest unemployment rate in decades. But before the speech, Biden's administration was thrown into chaos as a two-ton, high-altitude surveillance balloon was discovered off the coast of Myrtle Beach, SC.

The balloon's discovery drew swift criticism from both Republican and Democratic camps. Rep. David Scott, D-GA, lamented that the Administration had been too slow to take action, allowing the Chinese to collect data and intelligence. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-MO, was more blunt, saying that allowing the balloon to sail "unopposed" showed "an unpardonable show of weakness on the world stage."

For his part, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described the current state of affairs between the US and China as "tense," and said