'We don't feel abandoned': NASA astronauts debunk Trump’s claim Biden 'stranded' them
President Donald Trump claims that former President Joe Biden left NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore "stranded" aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
But CNN's Anderson Cooper fact-checked Trump when Williams and Wilmore appeared on his show on Thursday night, February 13.
Trump's claims are being promoted by billionaire Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a key Trump ally who now heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk, in a post on X.com (which he owns), claimed that Biden left the astronauts "high and dry."
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With Cooper's encouragement, Wilmore disputed Trump's characterization of events.
Wilmore told Cooper, "We don't feel abandoned. We don’t feel stuck. We don’t feel stranded. I understand why others may think that. We come prepared. We come committed. That is what your human spaceflight program is. It prepares for any and all contingencies that we can conceive of, and we prepare for those."
Wilmore added, "So, if you’ll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative, let's change it to ‘prepared and committed'…. That's what we prefer."
Cooper conducted the interview during a call to the ISS.
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Watch the full video at this Mediaite link.
