Trump Call to Artemis II Astronauts Hit With Longest Awkward Pause

President Trump reached out to the crew of the Artemis II spacecraft Monday night, but ended up having a call that was so awkward it quickly went viral. “America is a frontier nation, and the four brave astronauts of Artemis II are a modern day, you really are modern day pioneers, all of you,” Trump said, starting out with a congratulatory message. But then, he made things weird for one crewmember. “And one of them happens to be a neighbor, you know who that is, right? You have a special person over there, a neighbor, and uh, we like our neighbor,” Trump continued. > Trump forgets to respond when talking to the Artemis II crew, resulting in a long, awkward silence pic.twitter.com/0Ye9G42xUi > > — Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) April 7, 2026 The “neighbor” in question happened to be Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, a member of the Canadian Space Agency. Trump can’t seem to be able to hide his feelings about the country, which he has antagonized by saying they should be the 51st U.S. state. Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t even bring himself to say the word “Canada,” even with a large Canadian flag clearly visible in the video feed from the crew alongside an American flag. Trump said he spoke to Canadian ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, whom he called a “very special person,” and Prime Minister Mark Carney, and only then did he even say “Canada,” claiming to have many friends there. “You have a lot of courage doing what you do, a lot of bravery, and a lot of genius. But they are very, very proud of you,” Trump said. But after that, Trump went silent and the astronauts sat awkwardly during more than a full moment of silence. “Yeah, I think we might have gotten cut off. It is a long distance.... Reception has been great,” the president said. In the midst of an unnecessary war, a poor economy, and high gas prices, people around the world are looking at the Artemis II mission, which has brought humans further in space than ever before, as a source of inspiration. Does Trump see it that way as well?