Former President Donald Trump joked about two NASA astronauts stranded at the International Space Station. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to return in June 2024 but remain stuck due to spacecraft delays. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “They’ve been left up there—I hope they like each other, maybe they love each other, I don’t know.”
Trump also commented on Williams’ hair, saying, “I see the woman with the wild hair, good, solid hair she’s got. There’s no kidding, there’s no games with her hair.” Wilmore and Williams were meant to return after a one-week mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule. However, technical issues delayed their return, and they await a SpaceX Crew-9 replacement. Trump criticized President Joe Biden’s response, accusing him of mishandling the situation. “Biden was embarrassed by what happened, and he said, ‘leave them up there.’ I would have said, ‘If you’re embarrassed, you got to get them out,’” Trump stated. He expressed frustration with the delay in getting the astronauts back.
Trump then praised Elon Musk, claiming that Musk is preparing a ship to rescue the astronauts. However, NASA has not confirmed any independent SpaceX rescue mission. The space agency assured the public that they are working on the astronauts’ safe return and have already made plans.