Trump keeps Artemis II astronauts waiting for their medals after he arrives late and then speechifies about what he’ll build next

Key Points:

• President Donald Trump announced the initiation of a process to create a new "U.S. Space Academy" during an award ceremony for NASA’s Artemis II astronauts at the Johnson Space Center, aiming for it to rival existing military service academies.
• Trump signed an executive order establishing a presidential commission to study proposals for a NASA-led federal academy focused on technical education, leadership, and public service, but did not officially create the academy itself.
• The proposed academy would serve both the U.S. Space Force and NASA, attracting and training top talent for military and civilian spaceflight roles, though details about its location and structure remain unclear.
• Trump presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the Artemis II crew, including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, marking the first non-American to travel to the moon, during an event where Trump arrived nearly 30 minutes late.
• During his visit, Trump emphasized the new academy project multiple times, indicating that many states are competing to host it and suggesting a site would be chosen soon.