By David Mouriquand/US Correspondent
A clip of the Artemis II crew’s silence to Donald Trump’s praise and ranting has gone viral.
In space, no one can hear you cringe.
Following the historic space mission to the far side of the moon, the crew of Artemis II got a call from none other than Donald Trump.
He congratulated the astronauts on their lunar flyby before going off on a tangent, ranting to Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen about how he’d spoken to former Canadian ice hockey player and MAGA supporter Wayne Gretzky (which Trump refers to as “the Great One”), as well as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“Well, I have to say I spoke to a very special person, Wayne Gretzky, who I think you know, the Great One,” said Trump. “And I spoke to your prime minister and many other friends I have in Canada. They are so proud of you.”
“You have a lot of courage,” he continued. “I’m not sure if they’d want to do that. I’m not even sure if the Great One would want to do that, to be honest with you…”
This comment was met with an awkward silence, which lasted for an excruciatingly long time. No one said anything for more than a minute after Trump stopped speaking, before a com check was asked for, “to make sure you guys are still on the line and we didn’t have a handover.”
The coms were working fine, and judging by arguably the most hilarious part of this embarrassing moment, there was no delay. Indeed, there was an immediate response from Trump, who was waiting for a reaction from the astronauts.
“I am, yes, I am,” replied Trump.
Silence is golden. And speaks volumes, according to the internet.
The clip of the Artemis II crew’s silence has gone viral, with many joking about how even at more than 250,00 miles from Earth you can’t escape a Trump rant. Others praised the crew for not appeasing Trump.
“As if we couldn’t love them anymore, they give the perfect response,” wrote one user on X, while another argued: “This is what integrity looks like. How refreshing to see people not laugh it up for the most moronic leader of all time. Thank you.”
Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission specialist Christina Koch, Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen are currently on their way back to Earth. Splashdown is scheduled for Friday 10 April.
