The Trump administration announced a major update on Tuesday regarding the mysterious drones that were spotted over New Jersey and multiple other states in November and December of 2024.
At the start of her first press conference on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared that she had a statement “directly” from President Donald Trump regarding the mystery of the drones that sparked national security concerns under the Biden-Harris administration.
Leavitt told reporters, “Before I turn to questions, I do have news directly from the president of the United States that was just shared with me in the Oval Office from President Trump directly- an update on the New Jersey drones.”
“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” Leavitt added. “Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals, that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
In December, the Federal Aviation Administration announced “temporary flight restrictions” for drone flights in parts of New Jersey due to concerns regarding increased drone sightings. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Administration also released a joint statement in December confirming that the FBI had received approximately 5,000 tips of reported drone sightings but that the reports only resulted in roughly “100 leads generated.”
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Asked about the mysterious drone sightings last week in the Oval Office, Trump told Peter Doocy, a Fox News correspondent, “I would like to find out what it is and tell the people. In fact, I’d like to do that.”
Trump then turned to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and asked her if the administration could “immediately” find out more information regarding the drone sightings that plagued the nation during the final months of the Biden-Harris administration.
“I can’t imagine it’s an enemy, or there would have been, you know, people would have gotten blown up all over. Maybe they were testing things,” Trump added. “I don’t know why they wouldn’t have said what it was.”
The 47th president also referenced drone sightings near the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, saying, “They had a lot of them flying over Bedminster, which is interesting.”
