MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on Monday mocked the Republican “clowns” who posed with rifles pointed toward the sky in response to a Chinese spy balloon flying across the country.
The balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina to prevent debris from posing a hazard to people on the ground following an order by President Joe Biden. But that wasn’t soon enough for many Republicans despite the risk to humans if the balloon was shot down over populated areas.
“We’ve talked about it being serious, but some of the statements from the Republicans, especially in the Senate, have just been asinine,” Scarborogh said. “These jackasses going out, ‘I have my shotgun. I’ll shoot down the balloon.’ Seriously, again, they just make clowns of themselves.”
The “Morning Joe” host singled out “middle schooler” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) over a “nonsensical” tweet about the incident.
“I said I wasn’t going to mention names, but it seems to me if you are a ranking member of an extraordinarily important committee in the United States Senate, you shouldn’t debase yourself over a balloon,” Scarborough said. “Marco Rubio, of course, tweeting frantically, and says that if we can’t shoot down a balloon over Montana, then it’s China testing us. They know we’re not going to do jack if China takes over parts of Japan or India.”
“A middle schooler should be embarrassed for tweeting such things, let alone one of the most powerful Republican senators in Washington, D.C.,” he added. “Please, please give us your insights on the republican over-response to all of this.”
Watch the segment below from MSNBC.