"Shoot them down!!!": Trump demands action on New Jersey drone sightings

The drones have baffled residents and officials in New Jersey and neighboring states

Published December 13, 2024 8:33PM (EST)

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a town hall campaign event at the Lancaster County Convention Center on October 20, 2024 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a town hall campaign event at the Lancaster County Convention Center on October 20, 2024 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump wants answers about a mysterious series of drone sightings over New Jersey and several other states.

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge?" Trump asked in a Friday post to Truth Social. "I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” 

Trump already receives classified intelligence briefings as part of the transition process between his incoming administration and President Joe Biden's.

The federal government has provided few answers about the drones. White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that they “have not been able to corroborate any of the reported visual sightings.”

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania legislators from both sides of the aisle have demanded information from the Biden administration.

Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey hinted at a possible cause but called for certainty on social media.

“Homeland Security Secretary briefed last week on new technology they were deploying, but we need details on what those efforts have yielded and if more resources are needed,” he said in a  Friday post to X containing footage of his sightings of the aircraft. “If they haven’t fully identified the devices yet, we still should know what is being done.”

The president-elect’s response echoes one he shared last year when a Chinese balloon entered American airspace.

"The Chinese would never have floated the Blimp ('Balloon') over the United States if I were President!!!" he ranted before the Biden administration shot the balloon down

On the campaign trail, Trump took a special interest in UFOs, claiming pilots who looked “like beautiful Tom Cruise, but taller” confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial aircraft to him during his first term in office.

“People that are very smart and very solid have said they believe there was something out there and, you know, it makes sense that they could be,” Trump said in June.

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