President Donald Trump was widely mocked after bragging that he could have joined the crew of Artemis II in space while hosting the astronauts in the Oval Office weeks after their milestone achievement.
Artemis II is the first mission to bring astronauts toward the Moon in over half a century, launching successfully on April 1 to the delight of space enthusiasts and the general public alike. The mission's success raised hopes that a Moon landing could be achievable by 2028.
The four Artemis II astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—reached a historic milestone on the sixth day of their mission, traveling 248,655 miles from Earth, farther than any humans have ever ventured. They returned to Earth on April 10 and have been celebrated ever since.
The crew flanked either side of Trump's desk in the Oval Office as he praised them as heroes and spoke about how difficult it is to become an astronaut—before insisting he could’ve made the cut.
He said:
"We’re very proud of these people. They have unbelievable courage, unbelievable—a lot of other things, too, by the way. To get in there, you have to be very smart, you have to do a lot of things. Physically good, so I would’ve had had no trouble making it in."
"I’m physically very, very good. Maybe a little bit of a problem. I don’t know, [NASA administrator Jared Isaacman]. We’ll have to try it sometime."
"Is a president allowed to go up in one of these missions? We have no problem, right? We’ll have to try it. Congratulations very much.”
You can hear his remarks in the video below.
NASA’s astronaut requirements are rigorous: applicants must be U.S. citizens, hold an advanced STEM degree (or equivalent doctoral, medical, or test pilot training), have significant professional or flight experience, and pass a demanding long-duration astronaut physical.
The agency also emphasizes leadership, teamwork, and communication skills, standards that make astronaut selection highly competitive and physically demanding.
Trump, who turns 80 in June, has none of this experience, has been besotted with health problems, and is notorious for eating tons of fast food and never exercising. The White House physician has even been accused of lying about the state of Trump's physical and cognitive decline.
He would never qualify—and he was called out for his latest narcissistic display.
This marks the second awkward encounter between Trump and the Artemis II crew in a matter of weeks.
On the evening of April 6, shortly before 10 p.m. ET, Trump announced on social media that he would soon speak live with the crew. When the call began, the astronauts appeared smiling inside the Orion capsule as Trump congratulated them and asked several questions, including what it felt like when their spacecraft briefly lost contact with Earth.
Earlier in the exchange, Trump praised the astronauts and noted that he had spoken with Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other friends in Canada who were proud of Hansen, the Canadian member of the crew, who himself said he was "so proud" to be a part of the mission.
That's when things got weird with Trump's response:
"Well, I have to say I spoke to a very special person, Wayne Gretzky, you know, the Great One, and I spoke to your prime minister, and many other friends in Canada who are so proud of you."
“You have a lot of courage. I’m not sure if they’d want to do that. I’m not even sure if the Great One would want to do that, to be honest with you.”
"But you have a lot of courage to be doing what you're doing, a lot of bravery, and a lot of genius, but they're very, very proud of you."
After a brief lull in the conversation, both the astronauts and the president remained silent for about a minute before the crew asked for “a quick comms check” to confirm Trump was still connected to the call. Trump replied, "I am, yes," to laughter from the crew.
Trump later attributed the pause to a “nine-second delay” in the communication before mentioning Gretzky again—remarks that did not quiet down concerns about his cognitive decline.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
