NASA’s acting administrator and current US Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, has ignited an online firestorm following a highly public and controversial exchange with socialite Kim Kardashian on the platform X (formerly Twitter). Critics are vehemently arguing that the official’s attention is misplaced on reality television when the US space agency is grappling with an international space race and domestic government issues.
The Spark: Moon Landing and Comet Inquiry
The public conversation was initiated after Kardashian, during a recent episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians on Thursday, suggested that the 1969 moon landing was fake. Duffy, a Donald Trump administration official, was quick to correct the record and use the opportunity to promote NASA’s current goals.
Duffy’s Moon Defense: Tagging the 45-year-old socialite, Duffy wrote: “Yes, @KimKardashian, we’ve been to the Moon before… 6 times!”. He followed up by emphasizing the current space mission: “And even better: @NASAArtemis is going back under the leadership of @POTUS. We won the last space race and we will win this one too.”
The Interstellar Follow-Up: Kardashian then shifted the discussion to a recent astronomical curiosity, asking: “Wait…. what’s the tea on 3I Atlas?!?!!!!!!!?????”, referencing the interstellar comet that has garnered significant scientific and public attention.
Scientific Breakdown and Invitation: Duffy provided a detailed, accessible explanation for the comet’s cryptic name: “Great question! @NASA’s observations show that this is the third interstellar comet to pass through our solar system. No aliens. No threat to life here on Earth. 3 = the third, I = interstellar, meaning from beyond our solar system, ATLAS = discovered by our Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) team.” He then concluded by inviting Kim K to the Artemis mission launch at the Kennedy Space Center. “We love your excitement about our Artemis mission to the Moon. You’re officially invited to launch at Kennedy Space Center!,” he added.
The Backlash: Accusations of Misplaced Priorities
The interaction between the high-ranking government official and the media personality quickly drew a wave of hostile reactions online, accusing Duffy of being distracted from his critical duties at both NASA and the Department of Transportation.
Focus on China and SpaceX: A major point of criticism centered on the accelerating space race with China and Duffy’s reported tensions with private partner SpaceX. One individual commented with scathing detail: “Keeping up with the Kardashians? Why don’t we instead focus on keeping up with and beating the Chinese to the Moon?”. The commenter continued, noting that Duffy had recently criticized NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) contractor, SpaceX, on cable TV, yet was now “focused on addressing reality TV slop amidst an ongoing government shutdown and a race to beat China to the Moon.”
Calls for a Full-Time Leader: The same individual added a call for dedicated leadership: “We need a full-time Administrator who is devoted wholly to the NASA workforce — not to reality TV stars and cable news hits,” implicitly criticizing Duffy for holding the dual role.
Transportation Neglect: Others pointed out his responsibilities as Transportation Secretary. In response to a separate post flagging significant delays at the Orlando airport, a user sarcastically remarked: “Secretary Duffy will get on this, I am sure, after he’s done keeping up with the Kardashians,” underscoring the perception that his focus was divided across all his government roles.
The criticism highlights a growing frustration over perceived governmental distractions at a time when major international and domestic challenges—from the race to return to the Moon to managing key US transportation hubs—are top priorities.