President Joe Biden sought to reassure the public about the recent drone sightings on the skies of New Jersey and neighboring states, but did not provide additional details about their nature despite a growing clamor from public officials.
"Nothing nefarious, apparently," Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday night. "We're following it closely. So far no sense of danger," Biden added, saying that "there's a lot of drones authorized up there."
The president's statement joins others made by members of his administration and agencies. The Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Defense Department and the FBI issued a joint statement on Monday saying they sightings are not out of the ordinary and don't pose a "national security or public safety risk."
However, other public officials have criticized what they are describing as lack of transparency from the administration and demand more details about the matter. Among them is President-elect Donald Trump, who said on Monday that "the government knows what is happening." "Our military knows and our president knows and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense." He refused to say whether he had been briefed on the matter.
New Jersey Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat, told The Associated Press that officials could better help the public understand what's going on. "What the public could use is like walking through that rather than just, you know, as a statement that says nothing, nothing to be concerned about," he said.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also pleaded with President Joe Biden to get to the bottom of the matter, claiming that potential dangers to national security and safety need to be clarified given the fact that its MetLife Stadium will host the World Cup Final in July 2026.
Bellevile Mayor Michael Melham, on his end, said that the "lack of transparency" regarding the matter is "doing nothing but fueling conspiracy theories online." He went on to say that the sightings, which have gone on for weeks now, are "not little green men and not a foreign adversary," but that there's more than the explanations given so far.
The mayor was asked in an interview if the drone activity could have to do with radioactive material: "We were told by our state police that we have assets over our critical infrastructure. the point of view of whether it's concerning or comforting, i think it's comforting because it's probably us listening and watching," he began.
"We also know that we have drones flying in a grid light pattern. In my opinion they are looking for something. What might they be looking for, potentially we're aware of a threat that came through Port Newark. Maybe that's radioactive material. There is an alert that's out right now that radioactive material in new jersey has gone missing on Dec. 2. It was a shipment that arrived at its destination. the container was damaged and empty."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has taken a more belligerent stance, threatening to shoot down drones. "I'm going to tell you right now that if they try to tell us all to stay inside, stay home, shelter in place "FOR OUR SAFETY" from the drones, there is no way in hell I will comply with that absolute bullshit. Not doing it. No way. I'll shoot the drones down myself along with every other red blooded freedom loving American," Greene wrote in a post in Truth Social.
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