President Trump recently shared some words of encouragement for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who’ve been stuck in space since June 2024. He reassured them, saying, “We’re coming up to get you.”
Williams and Wilmore had initially set out on an eight-day mission in June 2024, but because of technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner, they never made it back.
On Thursday, the 78-year-old President talked about possibly sending a rescue mission to bring them back home.
Trump jokes about the astronauts possibly falling in love
“We’re going to get them out. We’re coming up to get you,” Trump said, looking up as if speaking directly to them.
Commenting on how long they’ve been stuck up there, Trump joked, “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 about it. There’s danger up there too. Things can fail. That would be bad. You gotta get them out.”
Trump can’t get over Sunita’s zero-gravity hairdo
Trump didn’t hold back when talking about Sunita Williams’ hair. He called her the “woman with the wild hair” after seeing a viral video of her floating in zero gravity.
“And I see the woman with the wild hair — good, solid head of hair she’s got. No kidding, no games with that hair,” he said while speaking in the Oval Office.
Trump blames Joe Biden for the astronauts being stranded
When asked about Williams and Wilmore, who’ve now been in space for nine months, Trump put the blame on Biden.
“Biden left them up there,” he told reporters.
Trump asks Elon Musk for help
“We have two astronauts stuck in space. I asked Elon (Musk), ‘Do me a favor. Can you get them out?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He’s getting ready to go up, I think in two weeks.”
Trump added that Musk is “preparing a ship right now” to go get them. “So I told Elon a week ago, ‘We’ve got two people up there that Biden and Kamala (Harris) left behind.’ He knows it. I asked, ‘Can you get them?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ He’s got a Starship, and they’re working on it now. So Elon’s gonna go up and bring them back.”
He jokes about joining the rescue mission himself
“Should I go on that journey? Maybe I should be on the ship,” Trump joked, making the reporters in the Oval Office laugh.
Elon Musk blames Biden for the delays
Elon Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out the situation. He posted, “The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days, and now it’s been 8 months.”
“SpaceX could’ve sent another Dragon up and brought them home 6 months ago, but the Biden White House (not NASA) refused to allow it. President Trump asked to bring them back as soon as possible, and we’re doing it,” he said.
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Technical failures with the Boeing Starliner caused the delay
Williams, 59, and Wilmore were supposed to be on a short, eight-day mission to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024. But technical problems — like helium leaks and thruster malfunctions — made it unsafe for them to return.
Sunita Williams breaks a record while stuck in space
In January, Williams made history by breaking the record for the most spacewalking time by a woman. She logged a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes while conducting a spacewalk with Wilmore. ‘’
Williams once completed a triathlon in space
Back in 2012, during another ISS mission, Williams became the first person to complete a triathlon in space. She used a weight-lifting machine to simulate swimming and ran on a treadmill while strapped in to keep from floating away.
NASA expects the astronauts to return in March 2025
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who’ve been stuck on the ISS since June 2024 due to Boeing Starliner issues, are expected to return to Earth around March 19 or 20, 2025, according to reports.
What was meant to be an 8-day test mission has turned into an 8-month stay after multiple Starliner malfunctions kept delaying their return.
Reports suggest NASA may use a SpaceX vehicle to bring them home, though they’re still working on a final plan. But despite the unexpected extension, both astronauts remain focused.
Sunita Williams, an experienced astronaut of Indian descent, has spent over 300 days in space across different missions.
As the world watches, NASA is making final preparations to get them back safely.
