Trump vows to bring home stranded NASA astronauts

US President Donald Trump has pledged to bring home two NASA astronauts who have been stranded in space for eight months, promising that SpaceX is preparing a mission to retrieve them.

Speaking from the Oval Office on March 6 while signing executive orders, President Trump told Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy that efforts were underway to bring the astronauts back, Caliber.Az reports.

"Elon [Musk] is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them," he said. "We love you, and we're coming up to get you, and you shouldn't have been up there so long."

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been unable to return from the International Space Station (ISS) after technical problems with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Their mission, which began on 5 June 2024, was originally intended to last just eight days. However, due to multiple issues, NASA deemed the Starliner unsafe for a crewed return to Earth, and the spacecraft was instead sent back unmanned.

According to a report by the New York Post, one of the astronauts recently confirmed that former President Joe Biden had declined an offer of assistance from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

President Trump criticised his predecessor, claiming Biden "left them alone" in space due to embarrassment over the situation.

"The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you, but this president won't let that happen," he said.

NASA has confirmed that SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch on March 12, travel to the ISS, and then return Wilmore and Williams to Earth following a handover period lasting several days.

During the exchange, President Trump jokingly entertained the idea of joining the mission himself.

"Should I go on that journey just to be on the ship when we stop?" he asked Doocy, who responded, "If that's an option, yes."

"I should do it," Trump replied with a laugh. "That's terrible. I thought he liked me."

Another reporter suggested that the president should remain on Earth, to which he quipped, "She likes me better."

By Aghakazim Guliyev