Trump references touching Nasa tribute to late astronaut family member - then makes it all about himself | indy100

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In the same week that US president Donald Trump came under fire for posting AI slop about the late Dolly Parton and claiming the country music icon and philanthropist “really liked” him, the 80-year-old has now been slammed online for using another death to talk about himself.

The convicted felon was at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on Friday to award the congressional space medal of honour to the four Artemis II astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen - who completed a 10-day lunar flyby in April.

It was during that trip, which saw the quartet become the first humans to leave low Earth orbit since the Nixon administration, that the name for a newly observed crater on the moon left people in tears over its sentimental meaning.

Hansen said during the mission: “A number of years ago, we started this journey in our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie.

“It’s a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.”

It was this sentimental moment which Trump brought up on Friday, before proceeding to make it about himself.

He said: “As many people will remember, during the mission, the crew named a previously unnamed lunar crater in loving memory of Reid’s wonderful wife, who we lost to cancer. So, they call it the Carroll crater.

“So that’s making Reid a little weepy right now, because I heard she was an incredible woman, who will never be forgotten now.

“The memory is all about the moon – that’s a great one. I wish they’d name something like that after me, Reid, but I don’t know, I’ll have to get the governor’s approval.”

The comments were soon met with condemnation online.

California congressman Ted Lieu simply replied: “No”:

Comedian and television host Loni Love commented: “Me me me me me”:

The Rest is Politics co-host and former spokesman for UK prime minister Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, tweeted: “What a pr***. Talk about not being able to read a room. Clever people at NASA with their own minds are having absolutely none of his narcissistic BS”:

“Read the room dude what the f***,” wrote one account:

And another replied: “The Artemis crew shared an incredibly beautiful, heartbreaking tribute to a mother and wife lost to cancer. But don’t worry Donald, I am sure scientists can find a massive, completely empty void somewhere in space to name after you”:

That wasn’t the only moment from Trump’s speech to generate a response online, as people also praised the Nasa scientists seen behind him for their “masterclass” of a reaction to what he was saying.

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