NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Ned Lamont took a lighthearted approach to recent drone sightings along the East Coast during his annual holiday appearance at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce Member Breakfast Meeting on Tuesday.
Hosted by Eversource Energy, the event continued a longstanding tradition of Connecticut governors mingling with regional business leaders in a relaxed and humorous setting, according to CTInsider.
Lamont joked about the drones, referencing their increasing presence. “If consumers dimmed their lights, you really get a good view of the drones,” he said.
“Don’t want to miss those drones,” Lamont said. “Let me tell you, my phone’s been ringing off the hook. We know about what 99 percent of these drones are. We’ve got tracking on them and some of them lead to Johnny’s garage where he’s a hobbyist. We know that our public safety (Commissioner) Ronnell Higgins uses drones if there’s somebody lost in one of our state parks, or rather than a high-speed chase scene, we can have drones track where that person is. We know that Amazon is delivering packages by drone.”
Lamont’s remarks come as national speculation surrounding the mysterious drone sightings increases. On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump weighed in during comments from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, calling for greater transparency. “Something strange is going on,” Trump said. “For some reason, they don’t want to tell the people.”
Trump added that some of the sightings have been near his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, jokingly suggesting he might alter his travel plans. “They’re very close to Bedminster,” he said. “I think maybe I won’t spend the weekend in Bedminster. I’ve decided to cancel my trip.”
Trump declined to confirm whether he had received intelligence briefings on the drones.
Lamont also joked that the only thing Trump and veteran Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal might agree on is shooting down drones. “I just tell guys, watch what you wish for,” he said, drawing more laughter. “You could have a big fat drone land right on the roof of Mar-a-Lago, and that would get your attention.”
Large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over New Jersey and across the eastern U.S., sparking speculation and concern over where they came from and why.
The FBI, the Homeland Security Department and state agencies have been investigating, but officials say there has been nothing so far to suggest that any drones have posed a national security or public safety threat. In fact, authorities say, many of the drone sightings have actually been legal drones, manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that there appears to be nothing nefarious about the flying objects.
“There are a lot of drones authorized. We are following this closely. So far no sense of danger,” the Democrat said as he left the White House for a trip to Delaware.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that drone-detection equipment supplied by the federal government has yielded little new information. He declined to describe the equipment except to say it was powerful and could even disable the drones, though he said that’s not legal on U.S. soil.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.