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President-elect Donald Trump honors the late John Glenn

President-elect Donald Trump honored the first American to orbit the Earth on Thursday, a little more than an hour after Glenn’s death was announced.

The former Ohio senator died Thursday at age 95 after a prolonged illness.

In his remarks, sent out via his Twitter feed, Trump hailed Glenn as an inspiration to generations of “explorers.”

“Today we lost a great pioneer of air and space in John Glenn,” Trump wrote.

“He was a hero and inspired generations of future explorers. He will be missed.”

Trump’s words hearkened to those of author Tom Wolfe, who introduced Glenn to a new generation of men and women with his book “The Right Stuff.”

Glenn, Wolfe wrote was "the last true national hero America has ever made."