WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Air Force Space Command is moving from Colorado to Alabama, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday at a White House news conference that touched on far more than that.
Trump’s remarks included a reference to college football, a viral video that seems to show bags tossed out of a second-floor White House window — and Colorado’s election system that Trump assailed as corrupt.
The focus was the Space Command’s relocation from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, a northern Alabama city with deep ties to NASA and private space ventures Blue Origin and Space X, led by tech billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, respectively.
Colorado Springs is home to NORAD plus other commands and aerospace operations, military and civilian alike, including NASA.
Trump’s decision is right in line with the Air Force’s quest to move the Space Command during the Biden administration, U.S. Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.
“In 2021, the U.S. Air Force made it clear they preferred to move U.S. Space Command to Alabama,” Barrasso said. “Today, President Trump and [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] put politics aside and honored the Air Force’s request to relocate.”
He added: “This is a win for our national security and the future of U.S. Space Command.”
Joe Jackson, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, said the Wyoming Republican “supports Space Command and the men and women doing tremendous work every day to ensure our military space operations remain the best in the world.”
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Trump was flanked in the Oval Office news conference by Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth and members of Alabama’s heavily Republican congressional delegation.
“Huntsville, Alabama — we love Alabama,” Trump said, referring to its longstanding nickname of “Rocket City.”
When asked about employment effects, Trump deferred to U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama. She said the move would directly add 1,600 jobs in her state and generate about twice that number indirectly. It was unclear how many jobs would involve current personnel moving or being replaced.
The Space Command’s website does not list numbers of service members or contractors. Though headquartered in Colorado Springs, it also has “personnel and functions” at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, according to the website.
Colorado’s Democrat-led establishment including Gov. Jared Polis condemned the move in a statement.
“Uprooting Space Command will weaken national security and readiness, waste taxpayer dollars, and inconvenience military families,” Polis said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued a separate statement vowing to sue, though he did not state the grounds for any lawsuit. A spokesman for Weiser did not reply to Cowboy State Daily’s emailed request for an explanation.
Football, Bags Video, Mail-In Voting
The news conference was freewheeling at times, such as when Trump poked fun at the state of college football in Alabama.
Trump referred to then-No. 8 University of Alabama’s season-opening, upset loss to unranked Florida State University on Saturday, 31-17.
The president directed his comment at former coach U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, though Tuberville — who smiled at the remark — coached Auburn, the Crimson Tide’s in-state rival.
Auburn won their first game of the season, beating Baylor 38-24 on Friday, though the Tigers did not crack the AP Top 25 as a result.
Another unscripted moment at the news conference involved video of what appeared to be bags tossed out of a second-floor White House window. When a reporter called the video to Trump’s attention, the president claimed it was AI-generated, saying the windows are sealed shut.
Trump’s claim was immediately disputed in some quarters.
The president also criticized Colorado’s mail-in voting system at length, saying it makes for “automatically crooked elections.”
Sean Barry can be reached at sean@cowboystatedaily.com.
