Donald Trump SHOCKED by NASA’s pay: Vows to cover stranded astronauts’ overtime pay himself

US President Donald Trump on Friday pledged to personally pay overtime wages for NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were stranded in space for 286 days. Trump made the promise after learning NASA had only agreed to cover $5 per day in incidentals for the astronauts.

Trump surprised by low NASA compensation

Speaking to Fox News, Trump appeared taken aback by the small amount NASA had allocated for the astronauts’ extended stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

“Nobody ever mentioned this to me,” Trump said. “Is that all? That’s not a lot, for what they had to go through.”

“If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket,” he added.

Musk’s SpaceX leads rescue effort

The astronauts' return was made possible through a rescue mission led by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which sent a crew to the ISS last week. Williams and Wilmore finally splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday (March 18).

Trump credited Musk for stepping in, suggesting that without him, the astronauts may have remained stranded.

“And if we don’t have Elon, they could be up there a long time,” Trump said. “Who else?”

Criticism of Biden Administration’s handling

Both Trump and Musk have criticised former President Joe Biden’s handling of the astronauts’ situation, with Musk previously blaming “political reasons” for the delay in their return.

Trump also accused Biden of failing to act quickly.

“He was going to leave them in space. I think he was going to leave them in space … He didn’t want the publicity,” Trump claimed earlier this month.

NASA’s delayed return plan

In September, SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon capsule to bring the astronauts home, but NASA delayed their return. The agency announced that Williams and Wilmore would have to wait for another SpaceX rescue mission carrying replacement scientists.

Trump reflected on the potential health risks the astronauts faced during their extended time in space.

“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.

With the astronauts now safely back on Earth, Trump’s promise to personally compensate them adds a new twist to the ongoing debate over NASA’s handling of the mission and the government’s role in their delayed return.