{"id":19295,"date":"2016-08-04T01:55:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T17:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/donald-trump-disses-americas-space-program-what-would-hillary-clinton-do\/"},"modified":"2016-08-04T01:55:45","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T17:55:45","slug":"donald-trump-disses-americas-space-program-what-would-hillary-clinton-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/donald-trump-disses-americas-space-program-what-would-hillary-clinton-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump disses America\u2019s space program; what would Hillary Clinton do?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Donald
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump looks upward as he discusses the border wall that\u2019s part of his policy agenda, at a town hall meeting in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Credit: Donald Trump Speeches & Events via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has been going through a series of reversals this week, and today\u2019s highlights include the dissing of America\u2019s space program.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone just asked me backstage, \u2018Mr. Trump, will you get involved in the space program?’\u201d he said during a town hall in Daytona Beach. Fla. \u201cLook what\u2019s happened with your employment. Look what\u2019s happened with our whole history of space and leadership. Look what\u2019s going on, folks. We\u2019re like a Third World nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rare reference to space policy was sandwiched within nearly an hour\u2019s worth of campaign rhetoric, and the comments catered to a Florida crowd. Employment on the Space Coast was hit hard by the space shuttle fleet\u2019s retirement in 2011. Thousands of jobs were lost.<\/p>\n

Now Florida\u2019s aerospace jobs are starting to come back, thanks to SpaceX\u2019s launches and landings, NASA\u2019s commercial crew program, the development of the Orion crew vehicle, Blue Origin\u2019s orbital space program and other ventures. Nevertheless, complaints about jobs resonate with Floridians who suffered through the post-shuttle blues and the Obama administration\u2019s cancellation of the Constellation back-to-the-moon program.<\/p>\n

<\/span> Right now, we have bigger problems. You understand that? We\u2019ve got to fix our potholes.<\/span><\/p>\n

One problem is that the space effort tends to rank relatively low on the political agenda: NASA\u2019s 2016 spending plan amounts to $19.3 billion, which is less than half a percent of this year\u2019s $3.9 trillion federal budget. Little tends to be said about the space program beyond the bromides.<\/p>\n

Back in November, Trump faced a question about space from a 10-year-old boy in New Hampshire. \u201cI want to know your opinions on NASA,\u201d the boy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, in the old days, it was great,\u201d Trump replied. \u201cRight now, we have bigger problems. You understand that? We\u2019ve got to fix our potholes. You know, we don\u2019t exactly have a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The platform approved last month at the Republican National Convention gave more of a shout-out to the space program, declaring that \u201cwe must sustain our pre-eminence in space\u201d and praising the \u201cpublic-private partnerships between NASA, the Department of Defense and commercial companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retired NASA astronaut Eileen Collins put in a good word during a brief address to the convention, calling for \u201cleadership that will make America\u2019s space program first again \u2026 leadership that will make America great again.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in a Reddit \u201cAsk Me Anything\u201d session that was conducted last week during the Democrats\u2019 convention, Trump said, \u201cHonestly I think NASA is wonderful! America has always led the world in space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today he changed his tune. Or is Trump\u2019s downbeat view of NASA the tune he originally had in mind? Here\u2019s a tweet from 2012 in which Trump lamented the state of America\u2019s space program:<\/p>\n