Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., told Newsmax on Thursday that Russia's downing of an American drone over the Black Sea is a sign of "complete disrespect."
Budd said on "National Report" that the incident is "very concerning" and noted that "we're going to really look at the details of this and see the appropriate response, but weakness is provocative."
Budd said that the Biden administration has "to be decisive, to be clear, to be strong, and that prevents these things from happening."
Budd added: "So while the question now is, How do we respond? The real question is, How do we prevent it in the future? And we do that through American strength."
Budd also said that "the nature of … how they went about this was complete disrespect. They're trying to deny our right to be in the area over the Black Sea. I believe these are international waters. … We've got pilots and guard units from all over the country that are flying these things for our national security and that of our allies, and this is a signal of disrespect and pushing us out of the area."
Budd also commented on proposals to ban TikTok in the U.S., saying TikTok has "been deemed as dangerous" to have on government devices, "they're a propaganda tool of the Chinese Communist Party, and we just think that the data that's coming from 80 to 100 million devices, particularly our youth, is playing the Chinese long game for control of our population."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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