Biden Muses That He Could Be Sent to Space to Rescue Stranded Astronauts
Sure Grandpa
President Joe Biden is ready to hop on a space rocket and rescue the two NASA astronauts who have been stranded on board the International Space Station since June.
The octogenarian made the tongue-in-cheek remarks during the APEC economic conference in Peru last week.
"Every time my wife thinks I’m getting out of hand, she says, ‘I’m going to call [Nelson] and have him send you to space," Biden joked while addressing the audience, as quoted by the New York Post. He was referring to NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who attended Biden's meeting with Peruvian president Dina Boluarte.
"And I’m a little concerned he may want to send me to space because we got to get some folks back home!" he added.
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Of course, Biden isn't in any condition to even foot inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The 81-year-old's health has deteriorated considerably, leading to him infamously mumbling his way through answers at the June 27 presidential debate with president-elect Donald Trump on CNN.
Meanwhile, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are patiently awaiting their ride back home after Boeing's Starliner spacecraft suffered major technical glitches during their trip to space.
The capsule returned to the surface without them in September after NASA deemed the journey too risky for Wilmore and Williams.
Instead, the pair will return on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February, stretching what was supposed to be an eight-day journey into an eight-month one.
In short, it certainly won't be Biden who will come to their rescue; it'll be the crew of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission, who arrived at the ISS on September 29 with two empty seats earmarked for Wilmore and Williams' return.
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