President Donald Trump welcomed the crew of the historic Artemis II lunar flyby mission to the White House on Wednesday. The four astronauts—commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—joined the president in the Oval Office for a celebratory meeting and press conference.
Trump's Self-Praise Overshadows Astronauts' Achievements
“We’re very proud of these people. They have unbelievable courage, unbelievable a lot of other things too,” Trump said at the start of the conference, immediately shifting to self-congratulation. “To get in there, you have to be very smart, have to do a lot of things physically good. So I would have had no trouble making it, I’m physically very, very good. Maybe a little bit of a problem. We’ll have to try it.”
The Artemis II crew broke Apollo 13’s distance record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth during their mission earlier this month. They reached 252,756 miles (406,771 km), surpassing the 1970 record of 248,655 miles. The mission concluded off the coast of San Diego on April 10, with the Orion capsule, named Integrity, making a textbook splashdown in the Pacific Ocean after its 10-day lunar journey.
Budget Cuts Loom Despite Praise
Trump previously congratulated NASA on the successful mission, writing on Truth Social how proud he was of the “great and very talented” crew while making no mention of his desire to impose severe cuts to the agency. Earlier this month, Trump announced his intention to slash NASA’s budget by 23%, including a 46% cut for space science initiatives.
Discussion Shifts to Voting Rights Act Ruling
The conversation quickly moved from the astronauts' accomplishments to the Supreme Court’s decision earlier that day, which effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act. Trump claimed he was unaware of the ruling until a reporter asked about it. When another journalist confirmed that the ruling was a “win for Republicans,” the president celebrated.
The court rendered ineffective Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 decision along partisan lines. Section 2 has long been used to ensure minority voters are treated fairly in redistricting and was the last remaining powerful provision of the 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting.
“I love it, this is very good,” Trump said enthusiastically. “We can end this news conference right now. I want to read it.” He then advised that some states should redraw their maps due to the ruling. “I know the concept of the ruling, I just haven’t seen the result,” he said. “Generally, I would think that they would want to do it. Some are greatly helped, and some, it didn’t make much difference.” He added that the states “have time to do it” ahead of the midterm elections.
Iran Talks and War Comments
When the conference turned to current wars, Trump said the US is still in talks with Iran, though no longer face-to-face. “We’re not flying any more, with 18-hour flights every time we want to see a piece of paper. We’re doing it telephonically, and it’s very nice. I make a call, or I have my people make a call, and you know the answer.”
When asked whether the war on Iran or Ukraine would end first, Trump appeared to mix up the two countries, saying: “I think Ukraine, militarily, they’re defeated,” adding: “They had 159 ships. Every ship is underwater … Every one of their planes has been shot down or has been decimated. They have missiles, about 82% are gone, and they have drones, and most of them are gone.”
UFO Disclosure Promised
Trump also said that his administration would be releasing as much information as possible on UFOs in the near future, saying he thinks “some of it’s going to be very interesting to people.”
