Donald Trump and Elon Musk continue lying that the Biden administration “abandoned” two astronauts in space, even after the astronauts themselves debunked the claim.
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore took off on a test flight in a Boeing Starliner last June. While the roundtrip was supposed to take one week, their homecoming was delayed by technical issues. Further delays arose as NASA began preparing a new capsule with SpaceX to bring the astronauts home. The pair is finally expected to return home in March of 2025. Predictably, as soon as Trump entered office, he sought to politicize the situation and paint himself as the hero. He performatively ordered Musk to bring the astronauts home, whom he alleged Joe Biden left stranded in space. Musk quickly jumped on the narrative and concocted a bizarre story insinuating Biden refused to work with SpaceX to retrieve the astronauts out of hatred for Musk. His claims were clearly false since NASA has been working with SpaceX since August 2024 on the situation.
Meanwhile, the astronauts themselves recently spoke out and denied Trump’s claims. They stated that they didn’t feel “stranded” or “abandoned,” reminding Americans that they’re seasoned astronauts who were completely prepared for a situation like this. The pair prefer to be seen as “committed and prepared” rather than “abandoned” and in need of saving by Trump. However, Trump and Musk are now disrespecting their wishes by continuing to push the narrative that they’re abandoned.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk continue trying to politicize astronauts
Recently, Musk and Trump took part in a Hannity interview during which the topic of the astronauts came up. Sean Hannity fed into the narrative that Musk will “rescue” the two astronauts while also saying he “disputes” what the astronauts themselves have stated of the situation. Musk claimed he was “accelerating the astronauts’ return, which was postponed … to a ridiculous degree.” Trump steps in to say, “They got left in space … Biden.” Musk then claims, “They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good.”
One will quickly notice that, though Musk makes this bold claim that Biden intentionally left astronauts stuck in space, he provides no evidence nor explains what “political reasons” the administration would even have to do this. There is nothing political about this situation. It’s a matter of technical issues and safety precautions. NASA has been working on the situation with SpaceX for months, long before Trump and Musk ever arrived in office. Making these unsubstantiated claims after the astronauts debunked them is especially absurd. On X, Ron Filipkowski shared the interview and wrote, “The astronauts THEMSELVES, a few days ago, said this was a lie.”
It’s especially absurd to have Hannity sitting there saying he “disputes” the astronauts’ narrative as if he’s the authority on space travel. Does he know who he’s talking about? Williams and Wilmore boast decades-long careers in NASA. Williams is one of the most experienced space-walkers in the world, and Wilmore is a former U.S. Navy test pilot who logged over 8,000 flight hours. Yet, a right-wing pundit is really coming out publicly to say he “disputes” what these astronauts have said about their own situation. It’s unclear what’s more ridiculous, Hannity insisting he knows more than NASA astronauts or Musk continuing to spread blatant lies.
The most important aspect of the situation is that these astronauts get home safely and that the world respects their expertise and commitment. Unfortunately, Musk and Trump can’t show them respect as their priority is always to twist every situation to make it about themselves and their agenda.
Published: Feb 19, 2025 01:52 pm