OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:39 PM – Tuesday, January 28, 2025
President Donald Trump-appointed press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, stated during a press briefing that the “mysterious” drones over New Jersey and other nearby states were authorized by the FAA, prompting questions related to why the Pentagon claimed they had no knowledge of what they were.
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The Trump administration’s Tuesday announcement follows after the Biden administration refused to be transparent with the public regarding the origins of the drones, which heightened public anxiety while fueling conspiracy theories.
“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. And in time, it got worse due to curiosity,” Leavitt said.
The drone sightings began to go viral in November of last year, as witnesses reported drones “the size of SUVs.” Most Americans felt that they were left in the dark in regards to where the drones came from and what their ultimate mission was.
Even government officials were allegedly kept in the dark, as Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas) stated last December that he believed the drones were “adversarial” due to the fact that they were flying over military bases.
“We want answers but the response I’m getting is ‘we don’t know whose drones these are,’” McCaul stated. “I was with the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, he said that these drones have been reported over military sites, military bases. I would not think those are friendly. I would think those are adversarial.”
“My judgement based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China,” he added. “I believe they’re spy drones and the PRC and Communist China is very good at this stuff. We know they bought land around military bases. This would be very consistent with their policy over the past couple years.”
Despite previous speculation regarding the origins of the drones, Leavitt assured that the drones were “not the enemy.”
It is currently unclear as to the specifics regarding the scope of the noted “research,” along with the “various other reasons,” as well as who exactly owned and operated the drones.
During Trump’s first day in office, he requested that his chief of staff “immediately” find out more information in relation to the drones, adding that he “can’t imagine it’s an enemy, or there would have been, you know, people would have gotten blown up, all of them. Maybe they were testing things. I don’t know why. They wouldn’t have said what it was.”
The GOP administration’s transparency on the issue also represents a positive shift towards more openness and honesty, in contrast to the Biden administration — which kept information demanded by the public shrouded in secrecy.
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