Ted Cruz and Star Trek

While not the same type of space policy pronouncements made by other presidential contenders, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) expounded on his views of the fictional Captains James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday.

As a Senator, Cruz has made clear that he believes NASA should focus on space exploration, not earth science and that he is an advocate for commercial space.   He chairs the Space, Science and Competitiveness Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which sets policy and authorizes funding for NASA. 

Turns out he is also a Star Trek fan with strong views on whether Kirk or Picard is the better character.

In an interview with Ana Marie Cox, Cruz called Kirk “working class” and a “passionate fighter for justice” as compared to Picard, an “aristocrat” and “cerebral philosopher.”  He prefers Kirk, adding that he thinks Kirk would be a Republican and Picard a Democrat.

The rather odd exchange did not add much to the knowledge base of what Cruz would do with the space program if he becomes President, but it was fun.

Two other presidential candidates, Jeb Bush (R) and Hillary Clinton (D) have expressed their enthusiastic support for NASA.  Bush was governor of Florida, home of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, for eight years.  Clinton wanted to be an astronaut when she was 14.