‘Hahahaha!’: Trump Goes on Bizarre Rant That Has Nothing to Do with Space, Then Desperately Waits for Praise That Never Comes as Astronauts Play Hot Potato in Painful Silence
Donald Trump knows how to make the entire world uncomfortable, even when the people he is speaking with are 250,000 miles away from the planet.
The crew of the Artemis II mission got a call from the president as their spacecraft circled the moon on Monday night, which led ot an awkward silence that no one understood.
American astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, spoke to Trump for just over 12 minutes.
After Hansen, 50, expressed pride in Canada’s involvement in the joint space program, Trump took over the conversation by going into an extended rant that ended in an awkward moment.
“I have to say I spoke to a very special person, Wayne Gretzky, who I think you know, the Great One,” Trump said, referring to the Canadian hockey legend’s nickname.
He added that he spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as well as “many other friends I have in Canada. They are so proud of you. And you have a lot of courage. I’m not sure if they’d want to do that.”
Trump then went back to talking about the four-time Stanley Cup champion, adding, “I’m not even sure if the Great One would want to do that, to be honest with you.”
As Trump focused elsewhere instead of acknowledging their record-breaking mission, the Artemis II crew aboard the Orion CM-003 capsule awkwardly laughed and fidgeted with a floating microphone before falling silent, resulting in nearly a full minute of dead air as they stared into the camera and adjusted the mic in complete silence.
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Eventually, Wiseman, 50, broke the tension and grabbed the mic to say, “Administrator Alexman, just get a quick com check. Make sure you guys are still on the line, and we didn’t have a handover.”
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed he was still on the line as Trump blamed the “long distance” for his delayed response.
“I think we might have gotten cut off. It is a long distance. It’s a long ways. The reception’s been great. There’s a little bit of about a 9-second delay, but uh no, I just had a statement for I don’t know what you heard.”
Trump ended the call with another rambling about his “great friend” Gretzky and the “courageous people” of Canada before inviting the astronauts to the Oval Office upon their return to Earth.
A clip of the cringeworthy incident made its way to social media platforms on April 6, and a large portion of the internet had a good laugh at the president’s expense.
“LOL. Trump [is] waiting for them to compliment him, and [they’re] literally twiddling their thumbs. Priceless!” exclaimed one Threads user in reaction to everyone on the call falling silent.
An X account tweeted, “So cringe. He was clearly waiting for a thank you, and they just gave him dead air (understandably). Trump then assumed they must not have heard him. So embarrassing.”
“HAHAHAHAHAHA EVEN THE ASTRONAUTS DON’T WANT TO TALK TO HIM LMAO,” noted a third person.
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Actress Yvette Nicole Brown added, “NOBODY wanted that mic. Nobody. It’s a real-life game of hot potato. That ghoul only called in because he wanted to steal some of their well-earned shine and admiration. That beast is the most hated thing on this planet and beyond. They had to take the call. They did not have to extend their time on it.”
Social media users agreed that the astronauts has no interest in speaking with Trump based on their behavior, as one person noticed, “It’s the folded hands for me! Key signal of “I’m over it! I’m done! Why are you still here?!” Another noted, This was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Omg literally twiddled their thumbs like … yo we not responding to you!!!!”
One poster focused on how the astronauts smiled through the awkward display. “Good grief! Talk about cringe. WTF does him meeting Gretzky have to do with this mission and the accomplishments of these astronauts and NASA??? It’s always about him and who he knows. FDT!”
Trump’s embarrassing exchange with the Artemis II crew members is the latest example of the president seemingly failing to make an authentic connection with other human beings.
As a constant target of online backlash and ridicule, Trump feeds off adoration and loyalty, especially from his core MAGA supporters, who have also expressed frustration about his actions as president.
The former reality star suffered a similar cringeworthy moment at a Georgia campaign rally event in February. Trump was greeted by a lukewarm crowd that had to watch him sway on stage for several seconds before he broke into his signature dance on stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” to break the awkward moment.
It was clear he was fully expecting enthusiastic applause that never materialized. Only a few people in the room clapped, and one loner who was recording tried to lean into a fist pump to hype up the fake enthusiasm.
Then Trump shocked the crowd when he paused to wink and blow a kiss to someone as if that would change the vibe in the room.