President Donald Trump was roasted after telling reporters at the White House that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, who have been stranded in space for eight months and are both happily married to their respective spouses, might fall in love.
Wilmore and Williams are expected to return home later this month, marking the end of a mission that has kept them in space for around nine months. Wilmore is married with two daughters, while Williams is also married and has pet dogs.
The two astronauts originally departed for the International Space Station (ISS) in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner test flight. However, technical issues with the spacecraft led NASA to deem it too risky for their return journey. The Starliner eventually returned to Earth without them in September, leaving Wilmore and Williams aboard the ISS for safety reasons.
But according to Trump, the experience is a recipe for romantic entanglement.
He said:
“We love you and we're coming up to get you and you shouldn't have been up there so long. The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you but this president won't let this happen."
"We're coming up to get you. I've authorized Elon [Musk]. I said, "Can you get them out? Because they've been left up there.""
"I hope they like each other. Maybe they'll love each other, I don't know, but they've been left up there. Think of it. I see the woman with the wild hair, good solid head of hair she's got. There's no kidding, there's no games with her hair."
"And you know, there's a danger up there, too. They could have some failures up there. That would be very bad. We've got to get them out."
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
Trump was mocked for his remarks.
NASA has announced that a SpaceX capsule is scheduled to launch to the ISS on March 12 and dock the following day. A four-person crew aboard the SpaceX mission will replace Wilmore and Williams, though the exact duration of the crew changeover has not yet been specified.
Despite their extended stay, both astronauts have expressed their gratitude for the experience, though they’re eager to reunite with their families. Wilmore himself said "we'll be coming home, riding the plasma, splashing in the ocean, so that's what we're looking forward to."
At a press conference ahead of the upcoming mission, ISS Commander Nick Hague spoke about the decision to keep Wilmore and Williams on board and the importance of the station’s mission. He acknowledged the risks of space exploration and the team’s commitment to their work.
Hague also praised his colleagues, calling it a "privilege" to work alongside them and expressing pride in how they’ve handled the unexpected challenges of their extended mission.
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