US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would initiate the process of identifying and releasing government records related to aliens and unidentified aerial phenomena, placing the spotlight back on long-standing public curiosity over extraterrestrial life.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters. GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
The announcement came a day after Trump accused former President Barack Obama of improperly disclosing classified information following Obama’s public remarks about alien life. Trump did not provide evidence to support the allegation.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Georgia, Trump said, "He took it out of classified information ... He’s not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake."
Trump’s criticism followed comments Obama made during an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen that was released on Saturday. Asked whether aliens are real, Obama responded, "They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in ... Area 51. There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States."
In a separate Instagram post on Sunday, Obama reiterated his position. “I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!” he wrote. He added that while the vastness of the universe makes the statistical probability of life beyond Earth high, the chances of extraterrestrials visiting Earth are low due to the immense distances involved.
Asked on Thursday whether he had seen evidence confirming alien life, Trump said, "I don’t know if they’re real or not." The White House declined to elaborate further, and Obama’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In recent years, the United States Department of Defense has stepped up reviews of reports involving unidentified flying objects. Senior military officials said in 2022 they found no evidence that aliens had visited or crash landed on Earth.
A 2024 Pentagon report similarly concluded that US government investigations conducted since the end of World War Two uncovered no proof of extraterrestrial technology and that most sightings were misidentified ordinary objects or natural phenomena.
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