WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said U.S. government officials, including President Joe Biden, know where the mysterious drone sightings along the East Coast are coming and going from, accusing the leaders of intentionally keeping those details from the public.
Trump said the U.S. military also knows where the drones took off and where they went afterward. “And for some reason, they don’t want to comment,” he said Monday at a news conference at his private club Mar-a-Lago. “And I think they’d be better off saying what it is. Our military knows. And our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.”
“I can’t imagine it’s the enemy, because if it was the enemy, they’d blast it out. Even if they were late, they’d blast it,” he added. “Something strange is going on. For some reason they don’t want to tell the people, and they should.”
The president-elect also said he was reconsidering visiting his Bedminster, New Jersey, club as a result of the nearby sightings. “I think maybe I won’t spend the weekend in Bedminster,” Trump said from his Florida club with a smile. “I’ve decided to cancel my trip.”
Trump declined to say whether he’d received an intelligence briefing on the sightings, and it was not clear from his remarks if he had direct knowledge of the origins of the strange lights in the sky, which have been spotted in New Jersey and New York.
Federal authorities have tried to reassure residents that the objects don’t appear to be operating nefariously. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have said such sightings mostly appear to be not drones at all.
Trump previously said in a social media post that he did not think drones could be flying over the U.S. without the federal government’s knowledge. He said the Biden administration should tell the public more information or “shoot them down.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said last week that despite using “sophisticated electronic detection technologies provided by federal authorities,” that neither federal nor local officials had not been able to “corroborate any of the reported visual sightings.”
The Department of Defense told reporters on a Saturday call that the U.S. does not have intelligence or observations that would suggest any drones that have flown over military bases recently are associated with a foreign power. However, the department said it can not be certain, partly because personnel have to coordinate with local and federal officials to track them down.
The lights in the sky were first spotted in New Jersey in November. The sightings have continued for nearly a month, prompting concern from elected officials. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called on Congress on Saturday to enact stricter drone oversight. The Biden administration had previously asked Congress to take action.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said they do not have any evidence to suggest the drones are being operated by a foreign government or present a danger to Americans.
“It is our job to be vigilant,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC News. “If there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now we are not aware of any.”
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
