WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday commended President Joe Biden for having “the guts” to take out a suspected Chinese spy balloon, but said the commander in chief waited too long to pull the trigger.
“He allowed a full week for the Chinese to conduct spying operations over the United States, over sensitive military installations,” Cruz, R-Texas, said during an appearance on CBS’ "Face The Nation."
Cruz said the delay gave China the opportunity not just to capture photographs but potentially also to intercept communications.
He questioned whether Biden would have acted at all if not for extensive news coverage of the balloon and the ensuing public pressure to shoot it down. The whole episode telegraphed U.S. weakness, Cruz said.
Those comments indicate Republicans aren’t likely to let go of the balloon quickly, as Biden re-works the China sections of his State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday night.
Biden told reporters Saturday that he had given the order to shoot down the balloon “as soon as possible” back on Wednesday, but the Pentagon decided the best time to do so was when the balloon was over water to avoid falling debris harming anyone on the ground.
“They said to me, ‘Let’s wait till the safest place to do it,’” Biden said.
China says it reserves the right to take further actions in response to the downing of the balloon and criticized the United States for what it said was an “obvious overreaction” and violation of international practice.
In response to a question Sunday, Cruz said the United States should take diplomatic action against China on par with then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston.
He also reiterated his call for the release of Houston resident Mark Swidan. Cruz last week introduced a resolution calling for the Biden administration to prioritize efforts to secure freedom for Swidan, who has been detained by China since 2012.
Cruz had urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to press Swidan’s case during a scheduled visit to China but that trip was canceled amid the balloon furor.
“If they want to demonstrate that they’re not bad actors, if they want to demonstrate that they can aspire to being a great nation, they should release Mark Swidan,” Cruz said of China. “Because great nations and great powers don’t hold political prisoners.”
The FBI has said China can collect data on users of the popular social media platform TikTok, which has prompted more calls to ban the platform from operating in the United States.
The top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, Cruz said there is bipartisan interest in going after TikTok. In addition to the espionage risks, the app is exerting a malign influence on the nation’s youth, he said.
“You have messages of self harm, where the algorithms push self-harm messages on young girls, and we’re seeing really disturbing figures among teenagers,” Cruz said.
Asked if U.S. actions could include a ban on TikTok or a forced sale of the platform, Cruz said “all of the options are on the table.”
Texas’ junior senator was one of many Republicans in Congress — and even some Democrats — who declared the entire balloon incursion unacceptable.
Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, an Air Force command pilot now retired from active duty who has more than 2,000 hours flying F-22s, the warplane used to take down the balloon, congratulated the pilot in a series of tweets Sunday, but continued to make it clear Congress will insist on answers about what happened and stronger leadership from Biden.
Pfluger also echoed the view of many that the Chinese used the incident to test U.S. capabilities to respond. “President Biden needs to reassert American strength. He must unequivocally stand up and make it clear that violating our sovereign territory is not okay, and that we will defend our country at all costs,” Pfluger tweeted.
Some Democrats from Texas and elsewhere also criticized the events that unfolded over the U.S. mainland the last several days. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, tweeted Friday while pressure built on Biden to act: “This is unacceptable! The American people deserve answers to why this was allowed to happen.”
Term limits
On CBS, Cruz also was asked about his proposed constitutional amendment that would limit senators to two terms even as he prepares to run for a third in 2024. He said he would happily comply with those term limits once they are adopted but would not unilaterally impose the limit on himself in the meantime.
As the interview concluded, Cruz avoided saying “yes” or “no” when asked directly if he’s making another run for the White House.
“I’m running for reelection to the Senate,” Cruz said. “There’s a reason I’m in Texas today. I’m not in Iowa.”
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