Joe Biden says he’ll ‘take care of’ Chinese balloon

President Biden said on Saturday that he will “take care of” the Chinese spy balloon that continues to fly over U.S. airspace.

Mr. Biden offered the comments, his first since administration officials publicly acknowledged the presence of the suspected surveillance craft earlier this week, in response to shouted questions from reporters in Syracuse, New York.

“We’re gonna take care of it,” he said when pressed for a “comment on China.”

Mr. Biden is in upstate New York to attend the funeral of Michael Hunter, the brother of his first wife.

The president has been met with steep criticism for his handling of the Chinese incursion on U.S. airspace, which was first revealed by the Pentagon on Thursday.

Critics have been especially incensed by Mr. Biden’s decision not to shoot down the balloon.

“First Biden refused to defend our borders. Now he won’t defend our skies,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Democrat, wrote in a Twitter post on Saturday.

Administration officials cited concern for the safety of people on the ground as their reason for shooting the balloon out of the sky.