A NASA astronaut stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has confirmed that Elon Musk was telling the truth when he said the Biden administration refused SpaceX’s offer to bring the stranded crew home, as reported by The New York Post.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore, one of the two astronauts left in limbo after their Boeing Starliner capsule failed, backed Musk’s claim during a press conference from orbit on Tuesday.
Wilmore and his fellow astronaut, Sunita Williams, have been stuck on the ISS for nine months due to the botched mission.
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The discussion turned political when a reporter asked Wilmore about Musk’s assertion that Joe Biden deliberately stalled the rescue mission for “political reasons.”
Initially, Wilmore dismissed the idea that politics played a role in the delay. However, when pressed further, his response suggested otherwise.
“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual … I believe him,” Wilmore stated, making it clear that he trusts the SpaceX founder’s word over the Biden administration’s narrative.
SpaceX had already sent a Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS last September, which could have facilitated Wilmore and Williams’ return. Yet, despite the spacecraft being in place, NASA—under the Biden administration’s oversight—chose to delay bringing them home.
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Musk, who has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration, recently revealed on Fox News’ Hannity that his offer to rescue the astronauts was turned down because it would have made President Trump “look good.”
Musk, who contributed $288 million to Trump’s campaign, suggested that Biden didn’t want to give his political opponent a win so close to the 2024 election.
While Wilmore confirmed Musk’s claim, he admitted that he and Williams were not privy to the behind-the-scenes discussions that led to the Biden administration’s refusal.
“We have no information on that, though, whatsoever. What was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that process went. That’s information that we simply don’t have,” Wilmore explained.
The astronauts themselves say Elon is factual in what he is saying. There it is folks pic.twitter.com/JRJG8thR1t
— dontrainonmyparade (@ghengisk222) March 6, 2025
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Despite the ordeal, Wilmore expressed respect for both Musk and President Trump.
“All of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk, and obviously, respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump. We appreciate them. We appreciate all that they do for us, for human space flight, for our nation,” he said.
The astronauts are finally expected to return to Earth in the coming weeks after a lengthy delay that could have been avoided had SpaceX been allowed to act.
Meanwhile, Musk has been vocal about the need for future space exploration to move beyond the ISS. He recently posted on X that the station should be taken out of orbit “as soon as possible” so that resources can be focused on reaching Mars.
However, Williams disagreed with that perspective, arguing that the ISS is still valuable for scientific research.
“I actually was extremely impressed coming up here and seeing how much science is going on,” she said.
“This place is ticking. It’s just really amazing. So I would say we’re actually in our prime right now. … I would think that right now is probably not the right time to say, quit, to call it quits.”
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