President Donald Trump is feeling some heat at the moment, after he seemingly flipped off a female astronaut when she fact-checked him during a press conference. The moment was captured by C-Span cameras as Trump was speaking over the phone with astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir during their “All Woman Spacewalk.” Trump referred to the occasion as “the first time for a woman outside the Space Station,” but Meir subtly corrected him by saying that there have been other women to spacewalk, but this is the first time that more than one woman has done a spacewalk on a ship at the same time. Trump then used his middle finger to scratch his head, and the action is being perceived as a rude gesture toward Meir.
President Trump speaks to @NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir during #AllWomanSpacewalk pic.twitter.com/vPQaEAM0rK
โ CSPAN (@cspan) October 18, 2019
Many social media users have commented on the moment, with one saying, “He [expletive] flips off a woman making history not even on our planet at 2:10 because she fact-checked him.”
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Another commented, “He also looked displeased when told there was a 4-5 second delay after he talked over the astronaut.”
WATCH: During live spacewalk call today, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir corrects President Trump for saying that the first all-female spacewalk is “the first time for a woman outside the Space Station.” pic.twitter.com/2Zjk8doTG5
โ MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 18, 2019
“It angers me that these women have to deal with this a-hole. What should be an incredible moment is overshadowed by this beast,” someone else tweeted.
“So when he was fact-checked that there were many others before them he looked at somebody and that scratch to his head with his middle finger was definitely a flip off,” one other Twitter user wrote.
Yeah, short looks like President Trump is signalling his displeasure at the female astronaut correcting him. pic.twitter.com/9d9ogQpXzG
โ David Rothschild (@DavMicRot) October 18, 2019
“You notice when she corrects him on his error he rubs his forehead with his middle finger? I’ve seen him do this before when he’s being corrected. It appears he is flipping them off,” a fourth person added.
“So much class, flipping the bird at 2:14 when corrected that it is not the first spacewalk by a female but rather the first time that 2 women do a spacewalk at the same time,” a final user tweeted out.
At this time, the neither Trump nor the White House press appear to have commented on the perceived slight.