The Harris campaign is reportedly considering people to be her potential VP. And as expected, a lot of the people are terrible.
But this Harris VP contender’s chilling background could mean even more destruction for America.
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who has recently emerged as a leading contender for Vice President Kamala Harris’s potential running mate, is now under intense scrutiny.
Reports have surfaced detailing his involvement in launching a spy balloon company funded by Chinese venture capital, a revelation that comes on the heels of the Chinese spy balloon controversy in February 2023.
Before his tenure as a U.S. Senator, Mark Kelly had an illustrious career as an astronaut. However, he also ventured into the private sector, founding World View in 2012, an Arizona-based company originally focused on space tourism via high-altitude balloons.
As technology evolved, so did the company’s mission. According to a spokesperson for World View, the company shifted its focus towards providing remote sensing services for defense, scientific, and commercial purposes.
“Today, our primary business remains providing remote sensing services to the U.S. Department of Defense and her allies by way of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as servicing scientific organizations like NASA, NOAA, and others to better understand Earth from the unique atmospheric layer of the stratosphere,” the spokesperson told Fox News.
The controversy surrounding Kelly stems from World View’s funding history. Shortly after its inception, World View secured venture capital from Tencent, one of China’s largest corporations, in 2013 and again in 2016.
Tencent, founded by some of the wealthiest and most influential figures in China, including “Pony” Ma Huateng, who was listed as the fourth richest man in China last year, has known ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The timing of these revelations is particularly concerning given the recent incidents involving Chinese spy balloons detected over U.S. airspace. Although World View has insisted that Tencent has “zero access, zero input, and zero control” over its operations, the fact that a Chinese-funded company has been involved in technologies capable of surveillance raises significant national security questions.
“The current leadership believed it was a mistake for the company to accept Chinese investment when it did,” World View stated. Yet, this acknowledgment does little to mitigate concerns about the potential influence of Chinese capital on technologies critical to U.S. defense.
Mark Kelly left World View in 2019 to focus on his Senate campaign, placing his financial interests in the company into a blind trust. While he has relinquished direct control, the early funding from a Chinese entity remains a significant point of contention.
Critics argue that Kelly’s involvement with World View, particularly its acceptance of Chinese investment, disqualifies him from consideration as a vice-presidential candidate.
Arizona Republican operative Daniel Scarpinato told the New York Times, “Mr. Kelly has also not faced the harsh spotlight of a national campaign and has potential political liabilities like a high-altitude surveillance balloon company he helped found with Chinese venture capital.”
This controversy casts a shadow over the Biden administration’s vetting process and its broader approach to national security. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have already faced criticism for their handling of foreign policy and defense matters.
The administration’s perceived weakness in China, coupled with a lack of decisive action in countering CCP influence, has left many questioning their commitment to safeguarding American interests.
The Biden administration’s response to the Chinese spy balloon incident in February 2023 was seen by many as lackluster and scary, going so far as to highlight the administration’s lack of care for the US and love for China.
Rather than taking a firm stand, the administration’s approach was characterized by diplomatic platitudes and a failure to deliver substantive actions to deter future espionage attempts.
As Senator Mark Kelly’s potential candidacy for Vice President comes under scrutiny, the revelations about his ties to Chinese-funded World View underscore the need for a more stringent vetting process and a robust approach to national security.
We must ensure the Biden administration addresses these concerns head-on, ensuring that individuals with potential conflicts of interest, especially those involving adversarial nations like China, are thoroughly examined.
In a time of increasing global tension, the American public deserves leaders who are transparent, uncompromised, and unwavering in their commitment to national security.
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