An alarming accusation has surfaced within the last week claiming that Chinese surveillance balloons hovered over the continental United States at least three times during the Trump Administration, and one more time during the start of the Biden Administration, according to a senior Pentagon official. Such revelations have caused high levels of frustration and confusion among those who held office during the Trump Administration.

Analystpuzzlement has been especially high among former Trump Administration National Security Council staffers, one of whom, Keith Kellogg, expressed his dismay in having been “in the Administration for every single day that Trump was in office on the national security team” and not having been informed of the balloon sightings. Mark Esper, who served as Defense Secretary from July 2019 to November 2020, also expressed confusion on being unaware of Chinese spy balloons hovering over the United States.

John Bolton, who briefly served as acting national security