President Donald J. Trump vowed to cover the overtime pay for astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, who were stranded for nine months in space, if needed.
The astronauts returned to Earth last week and while taking questions in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about them not receiving overtime pay for a mission that was supposed to last just eight days.
“The two astronauts that you just helped save from space, they didn’t get any overtime pay,” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy said, before noting that NASA agreed to allow a $5 per diem in back pay for each day in space, which comes out to around $1,430.
“Nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket,” Trump replied. “Is that all? That’s not a lot for what they had to go through.”
REPORTER: The two astronauts that you just helped save from space, they didn’t get any overtime pay…@POTUS: “If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket… and I want to thank @elonmusk by the way because think if we don’t have him.” pic.twitter.com/b86RanXggp
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 21, 2025
Trump spoke about what Wilmore and Williams “had to go through” while floating in orbit for so long.
“Even though they’re in the capsule up there, the body starts to deteriorate after nine or 10 months and gets really bad after 14, 15 months, with the bones and the blood and all of the things that you’ve been reporting on very well,” he said.
The stranded astronauts were rescued last week when Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched a rescue mission to retrieve them from the space station — a feat Musk has gotten little credit for from the biased mainstream media.
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
President Trump also doesn’t take a paycheck.
Neither does Elon Musk.
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) March 22, 2025
Biden certainly never opened his pocketbook for anyone.
— Blaine Pardoe (@bpardoe870) March 21, 2025
Trump stepping up with a bold gesture and giving credit where it’s due—Elon’s innovation with SpaceX has redefined modern space exploration.
Leadership and vision like this keep America ahead in the space race.— Abhinav (@ispeakweb3) March 21, 2025
Without Elon Musk, we would never have progressed beyond 1999. No SpaceX. No Optimus. No Neuralink. No FSD, no electric cars, no power wall rooftop solar, no Falcon 9, no Starship, no hope of returning to the moon, no going to Mars and no Alien World Theme Park possibility. Etc.
— Martha Johnson (@MarthaJohn1679) March 21, 2025
When the government fails, real leaders step up.
Two astronauts left stranded – unbelievable.
Trump offers to pay them himself – classic.
Shoutout to Elon for making space not a one-way trip.
Should we start letting Musk handle payroll too?
— Vilas sp (@vilas_sp7) March 22, 2025
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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