US President Donald Trump addressed the predicament of Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, two NASA astronauts who have been staying on board the ISS since June 2024. Ahead of the astronauts scheduled return, Trump called the India-American NASA astronaut a “woman with wild hair”, sparking outrage among her fans and supporters.
The Boeing Starliner's technical issues have prolonged Williams and Wilmore's stay, which was initially planned to last eight days. Trump attributed their dire situation to his predecessor Joe Biden and promised that serious steps were being taken to bring them back.
Trump asserted he has requested SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for assistance to get them back. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has been stationed at the station since September, the President stated, adding that it was supposed to be the conveyance for their return. He said that he gave Elon permission to get them “a week ago.”
“I authorised Elon a week ago. I said, ‘You know, we have two people up there that Biden and Kamala left up there.’ And he knows it very well. I said, ‘Are you equipped to get them?’ He said, 'Yeah'.”
According to NASA, a SpaceX ship is anticipated to bring the astronauts back to Earth on March 16.
Here's what Trump said about Sunita Williams as Internet reacts
{{/usCountry}}According to NASA, a SpaceX ship is anticipated to bring the astronauts back to Earth on March 16.
Here's what Trump said about Sunita Williams as Internet reacts
{{/usCountry}}Taking a jibe at the astronauts, Trump said, “I hope they like each other, maybe they’ll love each other, I don’t know. But they’ve been left up there. Think of it”.
He went on to comment on Williams' hair after a video of it floating in space went viral. Trump called her the “woman with the wild hair”, but quickly added, “Good solid head of hair she’s got there’s no games with her hair.”
Meanwhile, Trump's wild hair remarks on Williams went viral on social media, with one saying: “Donald Trump is so unserious.”
“Trump made a racist remark about Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams by calling her a woman with ‘wild hair’,” another wrote.
“What an absolute idiot,” a third user reacted.
“He’s uttering all sorts of weird things lately,” one more reacted.
Can astronauts trim hair while in space?
A NASA representative said that astronauts use specialized instruments to cut their hair in space, according to Reuters.
International space agencies have released videos of astronauts cutting their hair while being in space.
“Well, that's a little suspicious, don't you think?” one tweet read, accompanied by a screenshot that read, “These astronauts (sic) returned after 197 days in space… who cut their hair???”
At the International Space Station (ISS), for example, “any hair that is not captured by the vacuum will typically accumulate at one of the vent ports” in the active air circulation system, “which gets cleaned routinely by astronauts,” she said.
NASA spokesman Lora Bleacher told Reuters via email that astronauts use a specialised pair of clippers with a suction attachment “to collect hair clippings which would otherwise float free” while cutting their hair in space.
According to Bleacher, astronauts use the same creams and razors that people use on Earth to shave their facial hair.
Several space agencies have documented the shaving and hair trimming of astronauts in orbit. Back in 2013, NASA released avideo of former astronaut Christopher Cassidy shaving and getting a haircut while on the ISS .