GOP Govs. Noem, Youngkin Rip Biden Over ‘Weak, Slow’ Leadership Regarding China

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.


A pair of Republican governors who may have 2024 presidential aspirations lit into President Joe Biden over his handling of a series of national security issues especially involving main U.S. rival China over the past month.

Govs. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia blasted Biden for “weak and slow,” as well as a “dimwit,” response to the Chinese spy balloon incident earlier this month as well as his handling of other incursions into U.S. airspace.

“[China’s] going to use every ounce of capability they have,” Youngkin told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday. “Surveillance through balloons and TikTok. Economic coercion by trying to infiltrate with relationships and joint ventures that push them into our economy to enrich their Communist Party-controlled companies. And they’re going to try to intimidate us with their military presence. This is a moment to be strong and swift, not weak and slow.”

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Youngkin has taken several actions related to China. He issued an executive order banning the use of TikTok on state devices and networks, citing concerns over potential security risks associated with the Chinese-owned app. He has also spoken out against allowing Chinese companies to purchase farmland in Virginia.

In addition, Youngkin recently blocked Ford Motor Company from establishing an electric vehicle battery plant in Virginia due to concerns over the company’s relationship with China. The governor said believed that allowing a Chinese-owned company to supply batteries for Ford’s electric vehicles could pose a security risk for the state, calling it a “Trojan horse-type of relationship.”

“It was clear what was going on. I didn’t think U.S. taxpayer money, nor Virginia taxpayer money, should be used to provide incentives for this kind of relationship,” Youngkin said. “The federal government should get to it as well.”

Meanwhile, Noem has also banned TikTok and is working with the legislature to bar China from purchasing land in her state.

“We’ve been aggressive on fighting this threat that President Biden will not address,” Noem told Hannity after Youngkin’s remarks. “[China’s] doing it to destroy us. It’s time we get a president that wises up, loves this country, defends us, and stops acting like a dimwit in front of the whole world.”

She also criticized the president for his administration’s failure to contact her office regarding the Chinese spy balloon.

“This is the kind of deception we have going on with our administration,” Noem said. “They’ve lied to the American people, covered it up. They’ve gone around governors, and not communicated to us. And frankly, I believe, they shot this balloon down over the water because they wanted to be able to decide what was onboard that balloon, and if some of it was lost at sea, that they didn’t want us to ever know about, that was an easy narrative that they could sell to us that they could keep as much quiet as they felt they wanted to.”

In January, Noem blasted members of the now-disbanded House Jan. 6 Committee after her Social Security number, along those of her family members, were allegedly leaked to the public. In a tweet, the GOP governor appeared to suggest she would take legal action against members.

“My lawyers have asked the @WhiteHouse, the @USNatArchives, and @BennieGThompson which of them is responsible for leaking the Social Security Numbers of me, my husband, my 3 kids, and my son-in-law,” she tweeted on Friday, in a post that included images of a letter her attorneys have sent to the aforementioned parties. “What specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect our identities?”

The Washington Times reported the leak:

The recently sunsetted House Jan. 6 committee released Trump White House visitor logs from December 2020 containing nearly 2,000 unreacted Social Security numbers. 

At least three of the numbers, inadvertently leaked as part of the hoard of documents the committee posted online in recent weeks, belonged to members of Trump’s cabinet others. Several Republican governors and floods of other Trump allies have been caught up in the privacy breach.

Attorneys for Noem demanded to know “how the breach of privacy occurred, who was responsible, what steps each of you has taken to remedy the breach, and what specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect Governor Noem and her family in light of the public dissemination of their private information and the heightened risk for identity theft and any other future privacy violations.”

Ian Fury, a spokesman for the governor, said, “To my knowledge, we were not notified. The governor was not notified” of the leak, Slay News noted.


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