‘Solid head of hair she’s got’: In message for stranded astronaut Sunita Williams, Trump says former US President Biden ‘left them up there’

Referring to Williams, Trump said, “And 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.”

Trump criticised the previous administration, blaming former President Joe Biden for the astronauts’ prolonged stay in space. “Biden left them up there… This president won’t let it happen. We’re going to get them out. We’re coming up to get you,” he said.

Williams, 59, and Wilmore were originally on an eight-day mission to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024. However, technical problems, including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, made the Starliner unsafe for their return.

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, posted on X that “the astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months.” He claimed that SpaceX could have brought them back six months ago but was not allowed to do so by the Biden administration. “President Trump asked to bring them back as soon as possible, and we are doing so,” Musk said.

Williams, a veteran astronaut, recently set a record for total spacewalking time by a woman, reaching 62 hours and 6 minutes in January this year. In 2012, she became the first person to complete a triathlon in space.

Trump also jokingly suggested that he could personally join the rescue mission. “Should I go on that journey just to be on the ship?” he asked, prompting laughter from the reporters present.

(With inputs from PTI)

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