'We are coming up to get you':Trump to Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore

US President Donald Trump outlined his plan to bring home stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, while criticising the Joe Biden administration for ignoring them

The delayed return of US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from space has drawn renewed attention, as US President Donald Trump takes an interest in the situation. The two astronauts have been stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June of last year, despite their mission initially being planned for just over a week. US space agency Nasa has yet to implement a successful plan for their return, leaving their timeline for coming back to Earth uncertain.

 

On Wednesday, Trump spoke about his plan to bring back the astronauts on earth. He also criticised Joe Biden’s previous government for ignoring them. 

 

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, “Biden left them up there,” he said. “We have two astronauts that are stuck in space. I have asked Elon [Musk], I said, ‘Do me a favour. Can you get them out?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He is preparing to go up, I think in two weeks.”

 

Trump further attacked his predecessor Joe Biden and said that Biden was “embarrassed by what happened” and refused to take action. “I would have said, ‘If you’re embarrassed, you gotta get them out,’” he said.

 

While speaking to Fox News, Trump also had a message for Wilmore and Williams: “We love you, and we’re coming up to get you, and you shouldn’t have been up there so long.”

 

Trump also made a light-hearted comment about the astronauts’ long stay together. “I hope they like each other, maybe they’ll love each other, I don’t know,” he said. “But they’ve been left up there. Think of it.”

 

He also commented on Williams’ floating hair in viral images from the ISS, calling her “the woman with the wild hair”. Trump said, “Good, solid head of hair she’s got. There’s no kidding, there’s no games with her hair.”

 

Why are Williams and Wilmore stranded in space?

 

Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams launched on Boeing’s Starliner on June 5, 2024, for a mission that was supposed to last just over a week. However, they have been on the ISS for more than eight months because their spacecraft was not safe for re-entry to earth. The Starliner faced several technical problems on its way to the space station, forcing Nasa to cancel its return with the crew. In the end, the capsule came back to Earth without them, leaving Wilmore and Williams stranded.

 

Nasa’s plan to rescue them has been delayed multiple times. Initially, they considered sending a SpaceX Crew Dragon in September 2024, but the plan was pushed back. Nasa has now confirmed that Wilmore and Williams will return on a SpaceX vehicle in March 2025, after a replacement crew arrives. 

 

 Nasa’s stance on delay in return: ‘No politics’

 

While Trump has used the situation to criticise Biden, Nasa has made it clear that the delay was due to technical problems, not politics. The agency stated that Wilmore and Williams’ return was postponed for safety reasons. The astronauts themselves have denied claims that they were abandoned.

 

“We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded,” Wilmore told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I understand why others may think that.” Williams added, “It was a little bit longer than we had expected, but we’ve made the most of it.”

 

Nasa has now planned their return for March 19 or 20, 2025, on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. They will travel back with two other astronauts who were sent to the ISS in September, along with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams.