Trump tells Artemis II crew he saved Nasa despite trying to slash agency’s budget | Artemis II
When the Artemis II crew phoned home from the moon Monday night after their record-breaking day, they found Donald Trump reflecting on how he saved the U.S. space agency Nasa from shutting down and telling astronauts how much they deserved the honor of the autograph-seeking president.
The intermittently disturbing 12-minute Earth-to-space conversation, facilitated by NASA administrator and Trump aide Jared Isaacman, featured a long period of silence, several references to the president’s friendship with retired Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky and how “America is the hottest country in the world right now.”
But Trump’s dubious claim to have saved NASA during his first presidency raised eyebrows and led to the Artemis crew clumsily throwing microphones at each other in zero gravity, just hours after setting the record for the furthest humans traveled from Earth.
“You know, I had a decision to make in my first term, and that decision was: ‘What are we going to do at NASA?'” Trump said.
“Are we going to revive it or are we going to close it down? And I had very little hesitation. And it’s really cool to have someone like Jared involved, because it really is so much easier for me. But it wasn’t even a question in my mind.”
“We spent what we had to.”
Trump has consistently sought to cut overall spending while directing more resources to the space agency’s human spaceflight program, especially Artemis. After Trump’s second presidency begins in early 2025, the White House has proposed cutting NASA’s budget by 24% to $18.8 billion; This was the lowest figure in the last decade.
Congress unites in rare show of bipartisan commitment oppose cutsand passed a nearly fully funded $24.4 billion budget in January.
But on April 3, two days after Artemis II set off for the Moon on its first mission to carry humans beyond lower Earth orbit in more than 50 years, Trump announced his 2027 NASA budget request with another major cut—this time a 23% cut.
As Democrats vowed to fight the “morally bankrupt” move, Isaacman said: in a statement: “I strongly support the President’s fiscal policies and his mandate to increase efficiency.” Isaacman also called on NASA employees to “leave the politics to the politicians and focus on the mission.”
During a phone call to Artemis on Monday, Trump praised the crew for an “incredible journey to the stars” and said they were “inspiring the entire world” as the United States works to build a permanent moon base and eventually send humans to Mars.
“America will be second to none in space and everything else we do, and we will continue to lead in everything,” he said.
Trump praised NASA’s Apollo program, which previously landed astronauts on the moon — “but that was 50 years ago,” he said, “and America has finally come back. And America has come back stronger than ever in many ways; we are the warmest country anywhere on Earth.”
Trump had an exchange with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and Hansen applauded what he saw as a “deliberate decision” by the United States to “lead by example and allow other countries, like Canada, to share our gifts and help achieve these mutually beneficial goals.”
This prompted Trump to reflect on conversations he said he had with Gretzky, “a very special person”; Canadian prime minister Mark Carney; and “I have a lot of friends in Canada” told how proud they were of Hansen.
More than a minute of awkward silence followed, ending with Isaacman stepping back in for a “communication check” and Trump repeating his stories about Gretzky, Carney, and the Canadian people.
“Yes, Mr. President, we heard about that,” said Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman.
The president then invited the four crew members to an Oval Office reception following a planned inundation of the Pacific Ocean on Friday that will wrap up their 10-day mission.
“I’m going to ask Jared to bring you in and I’m going to ask for your signature because I don’t really want a lot of signatures, but you deserve it,” Trump said.
“As you know, I have been quite busy myself, but I will definitely find the time and we will get together and I will give you a big salute on behalf of the American people and beyond that.”
Artemis II pilot Victor Glover responded, “We’ll be there when you want us” and thanked the president for his “truly special” call.
“We want to thank you all for this,” Glover continued.
“It’s the thrill and honor of a lifetime to embark on this journey. Today was amazing, but this three-year journey was amazing, and Americans and Canadians made it possible.”
