President Trump slams Biden administration over delayed rescue of NASA astronauts and vows personal compensation, while praising Elon Musk for facilitating their safe return.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump pledged Friday to personally compensate NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams after it was revealed they received only $1,430 in incidental pay for being stranded aboard the International Space Station for 286 days due to the Biden administration’s failure to return them as scheduled. The astronauts, initially intended to remain in space for just eight days beginning in June 2024, were brought home earlier this week thanks to SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.
According to Newsweek, standard NASA policy does not allow overtime pay for astronauts, even under extraordinary circumstances. Wilmore and Williams received $5 per diem for each day in orbit, despite being left in space 278 days longer than planned.
When asked by a reporter whether anything could be done to “make them whole,” Trump responded, “Well, nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket. Ok? I’ll get it for them.”
Trump also expressed gratitude to Elon Musk for his critical role in the astronauts’ return, emphasizing the risks associated with prolonged exposure to space. “I want to thank Elon Musk, by the way, because, think if we don’t have him. You know there’s only so long, even though they’re in the capsule up there…the body starts to deteriorate after nine or ten months. And it gets really bad after 14, 15 months with the bones and the blood,” Trump said. “And if we don’t have Elon, they could be up there a long time. Who else is going to get them? And I just want to thank him.”
Musk, in an interview with Sean Hannity, confirmed that SpaceX had offered to bring the astronauts back much earlier, but the Biden administration rejected the offer for what Musk described as “political reasons.” “We definitely offered to return the astronauts earlier, there’s no question about that,” Musk said. “SpaceX could have brought the astronauts back after a few months at most and we made that offer to the Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons and that’s just a fact.”
In a separate exchange, Trump addressed inflammatory remarks by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who claimed during a podcast with California Governor Gavin Newsom that he could “kick most of their a**es,” referring to Trump supporters. Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Trump for his response to Walz’s comments.
Trump replied sharply, “Oh, boy. He’d be in trouble. He’s a loser. You know, the guy’s a loser.” Trump added, “He lost an election, he played a part. You know usually a vice-president (candidate) doesn’t play a part. I think Tim was so bad that he hurt her, but she hurt herself, and Joe hurt them both. I would probably put him at the bottom of the group.”
The comments followed Walz’s appearance on Newsom’s podcast, where after calling for more respect across party lines, he escalated tensions by boasting about physically overpowering political opponents. As Trump continues to focus on national leadership and space policy, Walz’s remarks have drawn sharp criticism for their tone and content.
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