Wed Feb 19 08:41:51 UTC 2025: ## Trump and Musk Accuse Biden of Abandoning Astronauts in Space
**Washington, D.C.** – Former President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have launched a scathing attack on the Biden administration, alleging that the previous administration deliberately abandoned astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore at the International Space Station (ISS) for political reasons.
During a joint interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump and Musk claimed that the astronauts, who have been aboard the ISS since June 2024 following a malfunctioning Boeing Starliner spacecraft, were left stranded for an extended period. Musk stated that, at Trump’s request, SpaceX is expediting their return, a mission he described as having been “postponed to a ridiculous degree.”
Trump directly accused President Biden of intending to leave the astronauts in space, saying, “He was going to leave them in space.” Musk echoed this sentiment, stating the astronauts were “left up there for political reasons.”
While NASA announced in August 2024 that SpaceX would be responsible for returning Williams and Wilmore via the Crew-9 mission, Trump and Musk contend that the Biden administration delayed this process. Musk confirmed that SpaceX has the capability to conduct the return mission, stating that it should take approximately four weeks.
The astronauts’ extended stay stems from issues with their initial Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which experienced problems during its launch. Following an assessment, NASA determined that returning the crew aboard the Starliner was too risky.
This latest claim adds another layer of political tension between the Trump and Biden camps, with serious accusations of political negligence and potential endangerment of astronauts at stake. The incident is likely to ignite further controversy in the coming weeks.
First Piper 