Trump’s questionable social media posts on space deserve context

President Trump will be remembered, along with John F. Kennedy Jr. and Ronald Reagan, as one of the American presidents who took America’s space program to new heights. The world is going back to the moon, largely because of Trump and the two men he appointed to be NASA administrator — Jim Bridenstine in his first term and Jarad Isaacman in his second.

However, two recent social media posts by Trump have been perplexing. The first was a graphic of proposed uniforms for members of the U.S. Space Force. The problem with the proposal is that the uniforms resembled something worn in “Star Wars” by the crew of the evil Galactic Empire’s Death Star — obviously not a good look for an American military service.

The post has sparked a lot of mockery on social media. It also suggests that science fiction may not be the appropriate model for fashioning a look for America’s space military service. Some may think that it detracts from the Space Force’s role as a serious military branch that operates in a realm increasingly important to the defense of the U.S. and the free world.

The exception may be the television and movie franchise “Star Trek.” One can imagine the Space Force someday morphing into Star Fleet, the exploration and military service at the center of the franchise. After all, SpaceX’s Elon Musk, upon the formation of the Space Force, posted on X that “Star Fleet begins.”

Perhaps the uniforms worn by Space Force........

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