As one who grew up on the Space Coast during it's heyday, I would defend the space program as one of the worthier programs our government is involved in.
Generally a total waste of money. The unmanned missions are educationally useful but the manned missions didn't produce anything but propaganda. It probably was a special act of God that there were no solar flares during any of the manned moon missions or everyone would have been fried. The space station is in a VERY LOW earth orbit, hardly outside the atmosphere. Well inside the VanAllen Belt.
It was a problem then and it is an even bigger problem now. However, he can change it but wants to redirect those funds doesn't he. He owns this regardless of what decisions were made prior to. He cannot just pass them off. He needs to be a President and own up to his decisions.
No doubt that is true. I do not understand why those same people cannot work on that next generation other than there are those who do not want to fund it.
So he spends nearly a trillion dollars to try to create or save temporary , non wealth producing jobs (Largely unsuccessfully I might add), but could have kept 23,000 worthwhile jobs(guaranteed) for just a few million dollars.
Growing up in Huntsville my heart and a emotion want to agree, but when I reason the long term benefits of manned space flight in my mind I do have to wonder about what it is really worth.
I would rather see money spent on the space program than on the multitude of more dubious "research" projects such as research on why men don't wear c*ndoms.