One giant leap for political spin

by David Blevins, Sky correspondent in Washington

Picture the scene – two NASA astronauts hitch-hiking on the celestial highway.

That’s the impression created by the president of the United States.

Donald Trump has used evocative words like “abandoned” to describe their plight.

He claimed his predecessor, Joe Biden, had failed Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

The pair are still in the International Space Station, nine months after they arrived on an eight-day mission.

In a parallel universe moment in the Oval Office, the President said of the astronauts: “I hope they like each other… maybe they’ll love each other.”

Referencing pictures of Williams floating in space, he added: “I see the woman with the wild hair, good solid head of hair she’s got. There’s no kidding, there’s no games with her hair.”

But NASA refutes the President’s claim, emphasising it’s got nothing to do with politics.

Their prolonged mission is the result of technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Keen to get in on the drama, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk began talking about a “rescue mission”.

One small step into space has become one giant leap for political spin.