'Are we going to close NASA' to Isaacman bromance: Trump's livestream with Artemis II astronauts

Donald Trump spoke with Artemis II astronauts after they emerged from behind the far side of the Moon. He congratulated the crew on their historic achievement and on reaching the farthest point in space humans have ever been to. However, the president said some pretty weird things that made even the astronauts visibly uncomfortable. Here are some tidbits from Trump's conversation with the Artemis II crew.

The entire conversation lasted over nine minutes. Trump spoke at a stretch for nearly three minutes without a pause, and at one point it seemed like that he was delivering a recorded message. He talked about how Artemis II broke the record of Apollo 13 and congratulated each of them. He called their achievement inspirational. Then he asked the astronauts what the most unforgettable part of the historic day was.

At the start of his message, Trump managed to squeeze in his regular rhetoric, "we have a lot of things to be proud of lately". "Today you have made history and made all America really proud, really proud. We have a lot of things to be proud of lately, but there is nothing like what you are doing, circling around the Moon."

Trump also mentioned NASA administrator Jared Isaacman several times in his address. He saluted the astronauts for their achievement and thanked the team at NASA, "headed by Jared". Trump said, "He is a very special guy, by the way."

While talking to the crew, Trump at one point said that he had to decide "whether to revive NASA or close it down." He said, "I had a decision to make in my first term, and that decision was what are we going to do with NASA. Are we going to have it be revived, or are we going to close it down?" Mission commander Reid Wiseman could not hide the shock he felt at hearing the president say those words. Trump even said, “I will let you go back to the back of the moon,” after they had just returned and were heading home.

Trump once again invoked Isaacman and credited him for the decision to keep NASA. "I had very little hesitation, and it is really great to have someone like Jared involved because he really makes it much easier for me. But it was not even a question in my own mind," Trump said.

Trump also brought up Space Force and gave himself a pat on the back for deciding to form it. "Then we have Space Force, and it is very much related to what you are doing. That was a very important one, and in time it will truly turn out to be one of the most important decisions I believe I have ever made," the president said. The US Space Force was established as the sixth branch of the armed forces in 2019 during Trump's first tenure as president.

Isaacman made a comeback in Trump's speech when he started talking to the astronauts and about the future mission to establish a base on the Moon and go beyond to Mars. "Your mission paves the way for America's return to the Moon. We are going all out, and led by Jared Isaacman, we will be on the moon very soon, and we will set up a base on the moon. We'll plant our flag again. We will push onto Mars," Trump said.

At the end, astronaut Victor Glover thanked Trump, Isaacman and the people who made it possible. Trump responded and said, “Thank you very much, and Jared, congratulations, I will see you soon. I know that you have Mars very much in your mind, so we'll start thinking about it soon.” Isaacman was appointed the 15th administrator of NASA by Trump.