Trump, Musk claim Biden admin left Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore stranded in space: 'Political reasons'

Their remarks accusing the former President came during a joint interview with Fox News (Image: Screengrab/Fox News)

US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in a recent interview, claimed that former President Joe Biden abandoned NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for “political reasons”.

Their remarks accusing the former President came during a joint interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

During the interaction, Hannity asked them about the “two astronauts that I think were abandoned”, Musk said, “At the President's request, or instruction, we are accelerating the return of the astronauts, which was postponed, kind of, to a ridiculous degree.”

“They got left in space,” Trump added.

“They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good,” Musk claimed further.

When asked about SpaceX’s efforts to bring Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth, Musk stated, “Well, we don't want to be complacent, but we have brought astronauts back from the space station many times before, and always with success.”

He said the mission to bring them back will take place in about four weeks.

Trump, meanwhile, asserted that Musk’s company had not received approval from the Biden administration. “I think he (Biden) was going to leave them in space. He didn’t want the publicity,” the Republican stated.

Why the return of Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore has been delayed?

Originally planned as an eight-day mission, Williams, 59, and Wilmore journeyed to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024.

However, technical issues including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions meant that the Starliner was unsafe for their return.

After postponing their return multiple times, NASA now plans to bring them back to Earth in late March aboard a spacecraft developed by SpaceX, a competitor of Boeing.