Trump delivers speech at Kennedy Space Center after naming Stephen Miller chief of staff

[13:14] The mission has begun. America will go bigger, bolder, further, faster. America will go... [13:56] Welcome to the stage, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. [14:04] How about that? Good evening, everyone. Mr. President, welcome to Kennedy Space Center. [14:18] Welcome to Max Power. It is an absolute honor to serve under a president whose vision is igniting [14:25] a golden age of exploration and energizing the most accomplished space agency in the world. [14:32] As America celebrates our 250th birthday, we gather at a place where so many of our greatest ambitions [14:39] have taken flight, from Mercury and America's first astronaut, Alan Shepard, through Neil Armstrong [14:45] and Buzz Aldrin of Apollo, to over 135 shuttle missions, the great telescopes of Hubble, Webb, [14:54] the rovers on Mars, to today, where your executive order on ensuring American space superiority [15:00] has given us missions like Roman, Artemis II, and soon, Artemis III and Artemis IV. [15:08] Mr. President, you have given NASA a clear mandate to move with urgency, restore the fire, passion, [15:15] and greatness that made this agency the envy of the world, and lay the groundwork for another [15:21] 250 years of American technological breakthroughs, discovery, and inspiration [15:28] in air and space. We are building on what you ignited during your first term through the Artemis [15:34] program, through Space Force, through the Artemis Accords, and a commitment to keeping the United [15:39] States at the forefront of this great adventure, challenging NASA, our military, and American industry [15:45] to think bigger, move faster, and pursue the kind of bold endeavors worthy of the United States [15:52] of America, and to showcase that ingenuity as you see it today, as it will become the greatest [15:59] exhibition of American aerospace capabilities, not at the Paris Air Show, not at Farm Bro, but here [16:07] at Kennedy Space Center, next to this historic runway, this historic runway that President Trump [16:20] brought back to life. Your leadership has energized NASA, energized the industry gathered here today, [16:26] and sir, we are not slowing down. We will return American astronauts to the moon. We will build an [16:32] enduring presence on the lunar surface, a moon base. We will unleash the drones, next generation [16:38] transportation, taking us quietly through the sound barrier. We're rebuilding our X-plane fleet. We [16:45] are finally getting America underway on nuclear power in space, and we are going to venture farther [16:50] into the solar system and move closer to that next giant leap you called for in your inaugural address [16:57] when American astronauts plant the stars and stripes on Mars. Mr. President, thank you for setting an [17:03] ambitious course for America, for NASA, for believing this country should continue to [17:08] undertake and achieve the near impossible, and for reminding us that great nations do great things. [17:16] Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor, my privilege to welcome the 45th and 47th President of the United [17:22] United States, Donald J. Trump. [18:06] The lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee, across the plains of Tennessee, from sea to shine, Detroit down to Houston, pride, free American heart, and it's time we stand and say, but you're a ring. [18:56] We'll say this, the best administrator in NASA history, and I mean that. He's a pilot, an astronaut, a patriot. So, Jared, great job. You're doing a fantastic. He's very proud to pick him. [20:11] And thanks as well to every innovator, pioneer, and distinguished guest gathered today for one simple reason, to keep America first on Earth, first in disguise, and, of course, first in... [20:26] I want to congratulate while I'm looking at that big, strong guy. Just one for governor. Will you stand up, please, by the way we have it? [20:43] He won it, and he did it the hard way he worked. He worked hard, and please stand up, Madam Senator. If you don't mind, you'll be approving this. Thank you, Madam. Great job, both of you. Great job. [20:56] I want to thank the co-founder of the Upsummit, Cyrus Sigari, for helping organize this really unbelievable event. It's going to be bigger and bigger every year. You'll see that. And congratulations to also our Secretary of State. He's here. He's had a fantastic run. He's the greatest Secretary of State that we've ever had in this country. Marco Rubio is around here someplace. Where's Marco? Where is our Marco? Thank you, Marco. He's been fantastic. [21:28] OMB Director, Russ Vogt. Thank you, Russ. Thank you. U.N. Ambassador Mike Walsh. Good job you're doing, Mike. You're so natural, huh? I saw the way you took on the Cubans. Anybody watch? I love it. And Sam Graves and Mike Herodopoulos, who's fantastic. Thank you, Mike. Great job. Great job. And you win. Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Kao. I love the name. Hung Kao. [22:02] You did a fantastic job. FAA Administrator, Brian Bedford, who is amazing. Thank you, Brian. What is Brian? Thank you, Brian. Thank you. Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It's really a very important job, Michael. [22:25] Thank you, Michael. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. Good job. And many other leaders in aviation, aerospace, technology. We've got a lot of them here. A lot of guys that sell this stuff. They're making a lot of money. [22:40] And they accuse me of having met you once before, a long time ago. Remember, I don't want to shake any of your hands. That way you have no problem. But you're doing a fantastic job. We make the best equipment, space equipment, military equipment anywhere in the world. There's nobody even close. [22:57] And before going any further, it's true, too. Yeah, go ahead. You can clap for that one. But before going any further, we have some great news today. We just received yet another blockbuster jobs report that smashed all expectations. The job numbers are through the roof. [23:16] The United States just added 165,000 jobs in October. They thought the number would be maybe around 20, slightly more. I told them, including 19,000 brand new manufacturing jobs, the largest one-month increase in manufacturing jobs in many, many decades. [23:36] And despite the, thank you, despite the $3 trillion lost yesterday, you know, our country lost $3 trillion all because of an election. I wonder what that means. If we would have gained $3 trillion, I probably would have been more unhappy. [23:53] But you know what that means? That means that they thought somebody else did well in the election. By the way, I was not on the ballot, just in case you had any question. Because if we were on the ballot, we would have won. But we weren't. But these guys were, and they won. That's why we're so proud of you. [24:09] You won pretty easily, too. We've secured $22.2 trillion of investment in less than two years. Nobody's ever done that. No country has ever done that much. Personal incomes for the typical American recently reached the highest level ever recorded. The poverty rate is at the best and lowest level ever recorded. More Americans are working today than at any time ever before in the history of our country. Think about that one. [24:37] We're also ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They will never have it. Not even close. They tried. They tried. And you know what? If they did have it, if we didn't go in with those beautiful B-2 bombers a little more than a year ago, [24:58] If I allowed them to have it. If I allowed them to have it today, there would be no Israel. It would have been wiped off the face of the earth and there would be no Middle East. [25:10] And I know because I deal with these people. We will never let that happen. Iran will never ever have a nuclear weapon. You can rest assured. [25:21] So our country is strong again. Our country is respected again. Over the next two years, we will lead America and NASA to new heights of achievement and success that the world has never seen. [25:36] We've never seen what we're doing right now. Jared's such a big part of it. We have the smartest minds, the most brilliant minds anywhere in the world. [25:45] When I came into office and began my first term back in 2017, the NASA, I was here. It was dead. I said, are there any people around? [25:55] All you had was broken runways with grass growing up the cracks of the runways. It wasn't pretty. I said, you know, that only happens when a place isn't used, when wheels aren't running over it. [26:08] But there was grass. It was more grass than they had in asphalt or concrete. And here at the Kennedy Space Center, things are really going well. [26:19] The ambition was gone, though, at that time. I'll never forget it. The spirit was gone. I met like two people. That's about all we had here. [26:27] There were almost nobody. I said, is there anybody around? Knock, knock. Anybody home? Now it's thriving. But the spirit was gone. The inspiration was gone. [26:36] And after many years of failed leadership from Washington, the United States had even lost the ability to send their own astronauts into space. It wasn't going to happen. [26:49] But I had to make a decision. Do we open this place up and make it great? Or do we let it die? And I think you know the decision because it's never been more vibrant. [27:00] I watched just a couple of months ago what was happening. That big, beautiful ship going up. And everybody who was with me, they all stopped a very important dinner. Let's watch. [27:09] But those days are days of failure and neglect and decline. They're all behind us. They're gone. Under the Trump administration, our ambition is back. Our momentum is back. Our leadership is back. [27:24] Our leadership is back. NASA is back. And above all, most importantly, the United States of America is back. As a symbol of that national renewal, today we gather by the, and this is a gathering of real friends, by the same runway that once stood cracked and silent to announce that this very site will soon be the premier venue for the air and space demonstrations from all over the world. They'll come. [27:50] For decades, the world's major aerospace shows have been held overseas, from Paris to the United Kingdom to Dubai. Those foreign air shows have drawn the biggest crowds and big contracts, big headlines. And it's been more than 30 years since a new airliner was unveiled at the show when it was [28:22] on American soil on American soil. We didn't have the big shows. We didn't have the big shows. They were in Paris, mostly, I think, the Paris air show. But those foreign countries do not dominate aviation, and they don't dominate aerospace. They don't even come close, actually. We do. And under the Trump administration, we believe that the future of those industries should be unveiled right here in the USA. We dominate, and we should have the biggest show. We will have, within two years, the biggest air show. [28:54] That means commercial. That means space. That means in the world, by far. It won't even be close. And when people ask me what exactly we're trying to do, I said, exactly that. That we're going to do a bigger and better, grander version than the Paris air show. Much bigger, much grander. [29:21] And we have the right location. This is such a great unlimited runway, unlimited space to do fantastic buildings and all the things necessary to do it. [29:33] So we're going to have a show, the likes of which has never been done before. Next year, you'll see an even bigger building. And over the next few years, you'll see the biggest air show anywhere in the world. That'll take place very quickly, I'd say, two years. [29:48] And that includes commercial aircraft of all types. You'll have all of the big commercial flights and companies, Boeing, everybody's going to be here. The former shuttle landing facility will be transformed into a 1,900 acre venue that will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, generate billions of dollars in economic impact, and host hundreds of billions of dollars in deals. [30:16] We're going to sign deals. We're going to sign deals for commercial and private and whoever. All right here in Central Florida, where all of that business is very important to Byron Barnes already getting very happy saying, oh, what a great job. But you're going to be happy. And you'll be here every year with me, okay? We'll be here to launch each year. [30:39] To the entire team at NASA who have worked to make this vision a real reality, a beautiful, a gorgeous reality. And especially Administrator Isaacman, congratulations on this historic achievement. [30:57] There could be no better place to launch the next generation of American breakthroughs than Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, where America's future will take flight. [31:10] This storied soil is where Alan Shepard became the first American to ride into space on a pillar of fire. It was fire. I remember that so well. [31:20] It's where the largest rocket ever built, the Saturn V, tore free of Earth's gravity and raced into the stars. It's where the space shuttle first climbed into the heavens and where the heroes of Apollo 11 embarked on their mission to plant our great American flag on the moon, securing our place as the most incredible and exceptional nation in all of history. [31:47] The breakthroughs of single lifetime carried Americans from the sands of Kitty Hawk to the surface of the moon in just 66 years. Think of it, 66 years. [32:01] But then in one of the great tragedies of modern times or political class, you know anything about them? You know anything? These people, they abandoned you. [32:12] They abandoned this vision and they abandoned the commitment to progress. We lost the ability to go to the moon. We lost the ability to go anywhere in space. We forgot how to build the Saturn V rocket. [32:28] We walked away from supersonic flight. And when you think about it, I used to travel on a supersonic plane 30 years ago. And it used to go extremely fast, more than double what they go today. [32:44] This may be the only industry in the world where we've gone backwards. We used to fly in that beautiful Concorde, one of the most beautiful pieces of art I've ever seen. It was a piece of art. [32:56] I flew on it often. And then one day they cut the speed in about one third. I said, what happened? So it's one of the few industries that have gone backward, but no more, no more. We're going way forward. [33:10] We'll be way forward actually of the Concorde itself. We lowered our ambitions and turned from big dreams and bold visions to small thinking and stagnation. [33:22] It was pure stagnation, but America cannot remain the leading nation on earth if we turn away from that big, great, giant frontier, the biggest frontier of them all. [33:33] History has shown that if a nation wants to dominate the future, then it must build for the future. Great civilizations do not stand still. They're rising, falling, expanding, shrinking, leading or declining. [33:50] And in America, our destiny is to lead. That's what we do as we lead. Make America great again. That's what we do. Our calling is to explore. Our purpose is to build. And our aim is always to win. We want to win. [34:07] We want to win pushing the boundaries of human achievement further than anyone has ever gone before. And we're there now. We're ready. We're ready. We've taken a long time to put us back in a position where we were far advanced over what we were when we were at our previous height. [34:25] That's why in my first term, I signed the orders creating the Artemis program, directing NASA to return American astronauts to the moon and then push forward to Mars. This year, Artemis II made history circling the moon for the first time in more than 50 years traveling further from Earth than anyone has ever traveled before. [34:49] Think of that the furthest anyone has ever traveled before. Three months ago, it was my privilege to award the crew of Artemis II the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. And today we're pleased to be joined by astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen. And wherever you may be, please stand up. Great guys. Great people. [35:35] Next summer, Artemis III will carry astronauts into orbit on a complex mission to test the next lunar landers. And we are pleased to be joined by Artemis III astronauts, Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio. Any relation to Marco Rubio? Frank, where's Marco? Marco, do you know this guy? Come here, Marco. Where's Marco? Would you shake his hand? Shake his hand just in case somewhere along the line you're related. [36:02] Somewhere along the line you're related. Two good-looking guys. I don't know. Somewhere deep down from hundreds of years ago. I think you're related, Marco. [36:16] And thank you all. Because of their work before the end of my term, the United States will return American astronauts to the surface of the moon. So exciting. [36:27] And soon thereafter, the United States will establish a permanent presence on lunar soil. That's a big ambition. It's been for many years. Just this week, I issued the American Declaration of Freedom in Space, claiming all of space open for American settlement, American civilization, and American freedom. [36:49] Within the next two years, NASA will launch the first ever nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars. [36:57] I spent so much time talking to Jared and a lot of the people on that. My father's brother, Dr. John Trump, was for 51 years at MIT. He knew a lot about this, although probably not quite as advanced then. [37:13] But he spent 51 years as a professor at MIT, from a young man to the longest-serving professor. And I gave Elon and some of the great geniuses of our time the science award. [37:30] And then they told me that Ronald Reagan gave my uncle the science award, Dr. John Trump, years before. So that was a great honor. But we would talk about it a lot. He was an expert at sort of everything science. And he would be amazed at what we've been able to do. [37:49] But we're going to be paving the way for astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the red planet, as they call it. Everywhere we can, our administration is ending years of soil progress and seizing the future that rightfully belongs to America. [38:05] In my first term, I created the first new branch of the U.S. military in nearly 75 years, Space Force. Think of that. Think of that. One of the coolest things we've ever done. [38:24] And at the Johnson Space Center last summer, I signed an executive order to establish a new national academy, the U.S. Space Academy. That'll be designated fairly soon. [38:39] And it's going to be special. Think of West Point. Think of the Air Force Academy or Annapolis or Coast Guard Academy. You're going to have your own. It's going to make you very happy. [38:51] You're going to have great, brilliant people going through that academy for many years to come. Last year, I signed an executive order to repeal the prohibition on supersonic flight over the continental United States for the first time. [39:05] More than 50 years, more than 50 years. I love hearing that. I constantly ask Jared, how bad is it? Every time I'm with Jared, I said, how bad is that sonic boom or whatever you call it? And I said, how bad? It was not bad. I said, so why don't we just open it up? Let's open it up. [39:25] Let's open it up. And they've got lots of ways of controlling it. So we've terminated that band. That's going to be the lot. That was one of the reasons we never went further. It's one of the reasons the Concorde and all of the future of those supersonic planes never happened. [39:42] And now it can happen. Thanks to advancements and engineering. This will soon be possible without a sonic boom. I also signed an order to supercharge the American drone industry and even allow for advanced electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and autonomous flight. [40:02] And we are ensuring that the United States remains the undisputed global leader in super intelligence, SI, super intelligence, which is really a much better name than artificial. This is not artificial. It's super. It's too super sometimes. That's what we have to worry about. We'll make it a little bit less super maybe. But whoever wins SI wins. You know, we're leading China now by a year, maybe even a little more. We want to win. We have to win. Whoever wins that, whoever wins, [40:34] super intelligence wins. And under the Trump administration, the winner will always be the United States of America. We're leading now. And I was with President Xi three weeks ago at the White House. And we talked about it. And he's all in. And he congratulated us on how well we're doing. And I said the same to him. He's doing great. But we're leading and we want to keep it that way. It's a big deal. [41:00] America is the nation that dreamed and created the modern world. And we laid the railroads, harness electricity and invented the light bulb, the telephone, the airplane, the assembly line, the television, the microchip, the personal computer, the internet, GPS, the smartphone, and almost every other thing. [41:22] Think of it. Think of it. Almost every other thing that's worth mentioning. That's a cool list though when you think, huh? How about a little piece of each of them? Wouldn't that be nice? You wouldn't be sitting here right now. You'd be someplace else. [41:36] Think of it. Think of it. Think of it. That names every one of them and many, many more. Which ordered the human gnome to cure diseases powered entire cities by splitting single atoms and built telescopes to peer all the way back to the beginning of time. [41:56] And to be an American is to inherit the legacy of the greatest pioneers, explorers, inventors, and innovators who ever lived. And so to laugh in the face of doubters and critics who are always ready to say, why are you doing this? Why are you doing it? [42:15] And in 1901, the chief engineer of the U.S. Navy said that the idea of man flight was nothing but a vain fantasy as thin as air itself. Two years later, the Wright brothers achieved the age-old dream of all humanity, and that's to fly. They flew. Nobody could believe it. [42:37] In 1957, inventor Lee DeForest said that man will never reach the moon, regardless of all future scientific advances. [42:47] Twelve years later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin strode across the lunar surface. Time and time again, our courage, ingenuity, and sheer determination has achieved what everyone thought to be totally impossible until American and America and our great country and our [43:08] unbelievable genius minds got it done. As I said in my inaugural address in America, the impossible is what we do best. That's exactly what we do best. Now our nation is ready to prove the doubt is wrong yet again and to make the next giant leap for all of mankind. [43:29] Looking around these grounds today, we can still proudly say that after 250 years of American freedom, the best is yet to come. So I want to just thank everyone. And again, this is a phenomenal, a phenomenal week. And maybe most importantly, I want to thank and congratulate our great continuation of the Senate. [43:57] It's not totally new, sort of new, but it's a continuation and a man who will end up being a great governor. I have absolutely no doubt about it. Thank you both. And congratulations. Now, let me invite Administrator Isaacman back to the stage for a very special presentation. Jared, please. Thank you very much, everybody. Great honor. [44:20] Mr. Mr. President, we brought you something very special here. This plaque was made for you. We are going to install it on the runway that you helped energize that you helping bring back to life. So thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you for being with us tonight. Thanks for what you're doing for NASA and for the nation. [44:45] Thank you. [44:59] Thank you very much.