Senator Hawley rejects Biden comments on China during address to Congress: ‘Action speaks louder’

President Joe Biden only briefly addressed China during his state of the art address Tuesday night, but his words fell short compared to the actions he took against the country, Republicans said after the speech.

Despite escalating tensions between China and Taiwan in the Pacific and the recent downing of a spy balloon over the US, among other clashes, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley described Biden’s handling of China as “very weak.” “

“Actions speak louder than words. And President Biden’s handling of China has been very weak,” Hawley told Fox News during an interview Tuesday night.

He also said Biden’s words during the State of the Union were “completely inadequate” given the current geopolitical tensions.

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“I thought it was totally inadequate,” Hawley continued. “I mean, he said almost nothing, no specific talk or admission of the balloon espionage incident, no plan to counter it, and no admission that he was incredibly weak on China.”

Hawley also mentioned a controversial spy balloon, which China claims was a civilian object measuring mostly metrological data, that was shot down last week off the coast of South Carolina.

President Biden addresses the U.S. Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I mean, how is it that China was allowed to run this espionage tool across the continental United States, including the state of Missouri, and that their administration did nothing about it?” the senator asked.

Defense Department officials later confirmed that this was not the only suspected spy balloon, and that several such balloons have been found throughout the US, including near a military base in Hawaii, in recent years.

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Hawley added: “They would have kept it all a secret if the Billings paper had spoiled it by publishing the pictures. So, I mean, by the way, this guy is in complete denial. The American people, or senators, for that matter. We don’t know anything more than anyone else because they won’t be equal to the American people.”

Cotton is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said Biden’s words about China during the State of the Union were also “grossly inadequate” given the current geopolitical tensions. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Several Democrats have defended Biden’s brevity on China.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said Biden was “tough on China” but the president’s intention was to focus his “primary focus” on “the average working family and their problems, their dreams, [and] their hopes.”

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Rep. Mark Tacano, D.C., echoed those sentiments but appeared to shift the blame from Biden to Republicans and former President Donald Trump.

“The speech was and I think it was very strong on China,” Takano told Fox News. “I think Republicans have ridiculed this balloon issue. But I just want to remind people that Hong Kong has been invaded. You know, the basic law in Hong Kong was undermined during the Trump administration,” he said.

The Democratic MP added: “And it was a very weak moment for the United States. And so all this shenanigans and positioning of the Republicans to say that they are stronger in China. It really misses the real story.”

President Biden addresses the US Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Chris Koons, D-D, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a close ally of President Biden, largely agreed, saying that Biden’s address is “definitely heavily focused on China.”

At the same time, he noted that the president wanted to “solve absolutely everything.”

“We have many problems in our world, in our country, and the president tried to solve absolutely everything in just over an hour. I think he did a great job today,” Koons told Fox News.

“I think the speech was positive, energetic, persuasive and set a clear path forward for the country,” he continued. “It struck me how many times there was actually broad bipartisan agreement when he called us to action, like fighting gun violence, finding ways to push police reform, closing the border, pushing bipartisan immigration reform. and support for Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.”

Senator Josh Hawley criticized President Biden’s comments and actions on China following the President’s State of the Union address on February 7, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Tex., differs somewhat in his response, saying Biden “wanted to be strong against China” but suggested that more needed to be done.

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“Well, you know, he said he wanted to be strong against China. I mean the balloon is only one aspect. But I think that being strong against China is not only militarily, but in what we are talking about, the chips, because the pandemic has shown us how dependent we are on China,” Cuellar said.

Biden’s brief remarks about China and the Chinese spy balloon came about an hour after his speech.