The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
May 28, 2020
On Wednesday, Elon Musk's SpaceX, in conjunction with Nasa, was due to launch the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Unfortunately, the launch was cancelled just 17 minutes before take-off due to bad weather conditions. It would have been the first time that US astronauts have launched from US soil since 2011.
Despite the delay, such an event required the pomp and circumstance of the president to be in attendance and Trump did make the journey down to Florida to see the blast off which never happened.
Accompanying Trump was also first lady Melania Trump, the vice president Mike Pence, his eldest daughter and senior adviser Ivanka as well as her husband Jared Kushner, who also brought their kids along. The more the merrier, right? Especially during a pandemic.
Well, it appears that the Trumps, namely Ivanka and Jared, completely ignored the advice that was given out by Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine who asked the public to not travel to the launch site because of coronavirus and instead enjoy the spectacle from home.
ABC News quotes him as saying:
The challenge that we’re up against right now is we want to keep everybody safe. And so we’re asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center, and I will tell you that makes me sad to even say it. Boy, I wish we could make this into something really spectacular. We don't want an outbreak.
Ivanka was clearly gutted about the launch being postponed but not enough to ignore what Bridenstine had said and leave her kids at home. Perhaps they couldn't get childcare?
Meanwhile, people were a little confused by a picture of Ivanka and family who were all wearing face masks despite Jared Kushner opting not to wear one which seems a little odd but would be in keeping with the actions of the president in recent weeks.
The launch has been rescheduled for 30 May which Trump has confirmed he will return for. Whether Ivanka and the rest of the family will be there remains to be seen.