BILLINGS, Mont. (NewsNation) — China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the high-altitude balloon spotted over U.S. airspace is a “civilian airship” that is used for research that blew off its course. However, it was previously accused of being a Chinese spy balloon by the federal government.

NewsNation’s Leland Vittert joined “Morning in America” to discuss the discovery of the high-altitude balloon flying over sensitive sites in the U.S., and the possible responses President Joe Biden is weighing in order to proceed.

“These things have a tendency to escalate rather quickly,” Vittert said. “So there may be very good reasons, it’s worth at times like this, to believe perhaps that what the Pentagon and what the White House is saying, has the possibility of being true. It also has the possibility of being a cover story for a lot of other things that could also be true.”

Watch Leland Vittert’s full interview in the video player above.