When will someone finally speak up?

Bravery, please.

A few days ago, the Artemis II astronauts visited the White House, then stood in their snazzy blue jackets as the enfant terrible blathered on about this and that; that and this. On and on and on and on and on. Just blathering away. Blaaaathering aaawwwwaaay. At one point, he even made fun of the ears of the agency’s administrator, Jared Isaacman. Just for cruel kicks.

And while watching yet another awful 45-47 display, and seeing the four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen) remain still as totem poles, I found myself asking a single question: When will someone break protocol, step up and tell him to shut up?

I know … I know. He’s the president. Of the United States. He’s powerful and rich and …

I don’t care.

Let’s imagine, just for a moment, that you’re Christina Koch. You’re 47-years old. You were part of the first all‑female spacewalk and set the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. You have Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering. You have done volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity and Engineers Without Borders. Your resume could fill up 100 blog posts—engineering, firefighting, space. On and on. In the world, there probably is no more accomplished 49-year old. Literally in the world.

In short, you are 800,000 times the person Donald Trump is on his best day.

Which should allow you to clear your throat, step forward and do this …

KOCH: “Mr. President, may I say something about the expedition?”

TRUMP: “Of course, little lady.”

KOCH: “The biggest thing about being out there, some 250,000 miles from earth, that really hit me—profoundly—is that we are led by a small, insecure, incurious gnat of a man who will not stop talking …”

TRUMP: “That’s en—”

KOCH: “Can you name half of the planets in the solar system?”

TRUMP: Oddly silent.

KOCH: “I’ll give you four of them …”

TRUMP: “You’re a very disrespectful young woman.”

KOCH: “As disrespectful as you were to Jared, one of the best people I know?”

TRUMP: “It was a joke.”

KOCH: “You’re just miserable. It makes me embarrassed to be a human. Certainly to be an American. Look at you, paying off porn stars, cheating on wives, starting wars, ridiculing everyone. You use that IQ line a lot. How about you and I take an IQ test right now?”

TRUMP: “Security!”

KOCH: “Mine is 135.”

TRUMP: “Security!”

•••

I would build a Christina Koch statue in front of my house.

I would also hold her up as the model of courage.

And, in these perilous times, we need models of courage.

Desperately.