(CNN) — Three objects in North American airspace were shot down by the US military within three days last weekend on the order of President Joe Biden. But as Americans faced an extraordinary barrage of news about those missions, the president offered no explanation, no reassurance, to the public over the weekend.
The Biden White House begins a new week facing a series of questions about objects shot down by US warplanes in recent days: on Sunday, over Lake Huron; on Saturday, over northern Canada, and on Friday, over Alaska. Those three incidents came just days after the US military shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
As of Sunday night, there was no indication from the White House that Biden planned to address the nation on the events, a silence that has begun to worry even the president’s allies, according to multiple sources.
A person familiar with the administration’s deliberations said that as of the weekend, US officials were simply still trying to understand what exactly those objects are, including their country or countries of origin, and whether they pose a serious concern. There would be considerable risk to Biden, this person noted, if he stood in front of the cameras to deliver a speech before he and his senior officials had a better understanding of what to do with the objects that were toppled.
Still, pressure from some for the president to do just that is mounting.
A Democratic congressman, speaking in the background to offer a candid assessment, told CNN on Sunday night that Biden’s silence was “strange,” particularly given that “people are scared.” The lawmaker noted that the American public had heard significantly more from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over the weekend than from the president himself.
Schumer told > that according to a report he received from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the object shot down over Canada was likely another balloon, just like the high-altitude object shot down over Alaska on Friday.
Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that he looks forward to hearing more from the administration on this situation.
“The American people deserve timely answers about the objects that were shot down over Lake Huron, Alaska and Canada this weekend,” Bennet said. “We need to understand the nature of the threat to our national security. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I look forward to receiving information about these incidents early this week.”
The last time Biden directly addressed any of the recent downings was Friday, when he responded to a CNN question about the high-altitude downing operation over Alaska by saying, “It was a success.”
Biden aides believe that commenting on the objects without a full picture of what they are could cause further concern, another person familiar with the matter said. Biden has been deeply involved behind the scenes, personally ordering each of the objects to be torn down.
But his team has warned against posting to the public until at least some preliminary information about the objects is obtained.
The president’s public calendar on Monday is empty, and he was expected to receive regular updates on what officials are learning about the objects as they analyze the wreckage gathered after the takedowns.