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I wonder if they are being labeled as 'unknown flying objects' to avoid more political drama with China.

I think, for it to be considered an "identified" flying object, they'd have to know more than just what country sent it — i.e. they'd have to know a class or designation for it and have an associated doctrine for dealing with it.

I remember a trend of people sending up weather balloons with GoPros a few years back. I would imagine having an F-22 come after it would make for a more exciting video than they normally get (although the "edge of space" footage is already pretty cool).

Sounds like they’re just hamming it up after that “spy” balloon.

Or it's politically defensive. A lot of Republicans objected (properly? for political advantage? to encourage contributions?) objected to the way the previous balloon was handled. So this could be a more aggressive stance to avoid that again.