Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie denounced Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ dismissal of the drone activity, saying it was ridiculous to suggest it wasn’t unusual activity.
“Is this some kind of mass hysteria?” ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked the former governor. The ABC News host also just spoke with Mayorkas, who said the public had no reason to be concerned about the drones and had not seen any unusual activity.
Dozens of drones have been spotted throughout New Jersey in recent weeks as state officials have yet to determine where they come from or who is operating them.
“Here’s why, George,” Christie said. ‘Because of the answers the secretary just gave. They don’t answer the questions.’
Chris Christie joined ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday to respond to the drones spotted across New Jersey. (Screenshot/ABC)
“To say this isn’t an unusual activity, it’s just wrong. I’ve lived in New Jersey all my life. This is the first time I’ve noticed drones over my house. And I was at a restaurant in Monmouth County on Friday In the evening, people at the bar came up to me and said, ‘Gov. Murphy won’t tell me anything,'” Christie said.
Christie described his own experiences and said he had quit drones fly over his house in New Jersey a few days ago.
“The Biden administration and state authorities need to be more vocal and let people know exactly what they are doing. This interview this morning was a little bit of a better step, but I think it’s way too little too late, and when people see this kind of activity, it’s a new technology for most people, and they’re concerned about it and are concerned,” he added.
Stephanopoulos asked, “So you don’t think it’s something where once people focus on it, they actually see things that they wouldn’t necessarily pay attention to in the past?”
George Stephanopoulos speaks on ABC’s “This Week.” (ABC/Paula Lobo via Getty Images)
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Christie said it might be “part of that,” but said people, including himself, were seeing drones flying over their homes for the first time in their lives.
The former governor said that if he were still governor, he would want “our state police to have the authority to take down those drones and find out why they’re doing what they’re doing, and of course you would have.” coordinate with the FAA.”
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“What we’ll find, George, is that you’ve got individuals acting as drone vigilantes, and they’ll start taking them down. That is not what they want, because they are now an important part of the trade and the police often use them for surveillance and other matters. We need to be able to operate in a safe manner, and we are not doing that,” he added.
