President Joe Biden defended his weakness in taking on taking on the Chinese government after a spy balloon floated above the United States, saying that the balloon was not a “major breach” of US national security.

“I said I wanted it shot down as soon as possible, and they were worried about the damage that could be done even in a big state like Montana. This thing was gigantic. What happens if it came down and hit a school in a rural area?” Biden told Noticias Telemundo.

Joe Biden just told Telemundo that the Chinese spy satellite he allowed over the US for a week was “not a major breach.”

That’s indefensible.

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) February 10, 2023

“So I told them as soon as they could shoot it down, shoot it down. They made a wise decision. They shot it down over water, they’re recovering most of the parts, and they’re good.”

Fox News reports that: “A fighter jet shot down the balloon on Saturday afternoon off the coast of South Carolina. The 200-foot tall balloon, which weighed about 2,000 pounds and had a payload roughly the size of a jet airliner, first passed over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 before making its way across the continental U.S.

“Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that Chinese surveillance balloons have entered the U.S. at least four previous times.

“Biden downplayed the significance of the latest balloon, placing it in the context of massive surveillance operations taking place all over the world.”

🇺🇸 En exclusiva, el presidente, @JoeBiden, habla con @JulioVaqueiro de su futuro en la política, sus aspiraciones y sobre cómo piensa manejar crisis en la frontera.

📺 Mira la entrevista completa esta tarde a las 6:30PM/ 5:30C por @Telemundo y en https://t.co/YkVub2JHtS pic.twitter.com/OrHpxXrsUe

— Noticias Telemundo (@TelemundoNews) February 9, 2023

Biden has received criticism for his handling of the balloon affair, even from Democrats. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, where the balloon was first reported to be on Thursday, was upset that he was not given answers about the balloon sooner, and said that China’s actions are a “a clear threat to those values and to America’s national security, and I’m demanding answers from the Biden Administration. I will be pulling people before my committee to get real answers on how this happened, and how we can prevent it from ever happening again.” Those comments were made before the balloon was shot down.