The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced late Thursday (February 19) that he has instructed various government departments to release all government documents related to extraterrestrial life and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social, stating, “Due to the immense interest shown by the public, I will instruct the Secretary of Defense and other relevant departments and agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files related to extraterrestrial life, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), and UFOs, as well as any other information related to these highly complex, yet fascinating and important issues. God bless America!”
The catalyst for this directive was an episode of the podcast “No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen” that aired on February 14. During the show, host Cohen asked Obama, “Are aliens real?”
Obama replied, “They are real, but I haven’t seen them, and they haven’t been locked in… Area 51. There is no underground facility there unless there is a huge conspiracy where even the President of the United States is kept in the dark.”
When asked what was the most pressing question he had when he took office in 2009, Obama answered, “Where are the aliens?”
After the viral interview video sparked discussions online, Obama took to Instagram on February 15 to explain that his comments were made in a light-hearted context, adding, “From a statistical perspective, given the vastness of the universe, the probability of extraterrestrial life is high.”
However, he emphasized that the distances between star systems are vast, making the likelihood of alien visitation to Earth very low, and that he did not encounter any evidence of extraterrestrial life making contact with humans during his presidency.
During a media interview on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump responded to this by accusing Obama of disclosing “classified information.”
Trump stated, “Well, I don’t know if they are real. But I can tell you, he leaked classified information. He shouldn’t have done that.”
He added that he does not have a specific opinion on the existence of aliens, but that many people “believe in aliens,” and then asked the host if he believed in aliens.
The host replied, “Well, since the President has the authority to declassify anything he wants to declassify, if you want to release a statement on this—”
Trump interrupted and responded, “I might be able to declassify to help out (Obama).”
In recent years, the U.S. government’s interest in Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) has been steadily increasing. During Trump’s first term, the U.S. government established the UAP Task Force (UAPTF) aimed at detecting and analyzing aerial phenomena that could potentially threaten national security.
The Department of Defense emphasized at the time, “For any unauthorized aircraft entering our training or designated airspace, the Department of Defense and military departments take the matter very seriously and review each report.”
However, the UAPTF report submitted to Congress in 2021 stated that due to a lack of “high-quality” information, it could not determine the nature of UAPs, or whether they originate from extraterrestrial life; although some phenomena exhibited “unusual flight characteristics,” the report suggested that these could be sensor errors, deception, or misperception by observers.
During the Biden administration in 2023, the issue of UFOs once again became a focal point. Several U.S. congressional members accused the government of withholding relevant information from Congress and the public. Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Borders, and Foreign Affairs, Glenn Grothman, bluntly stated during a hearing in July 2023, “For decades, the lack of transparency regarding UAP has fueled speculation and debate, eroding public trust in institutions that should serve and protect the people.”
At that time, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also admitted that the reports of unidentified phenomena by pilots and naval aviators were indeed true and had an impact on military training and readiness.
Kirby said, “On its own, it’s a national security issue of concern. We don’t know, we don’t have answers about what these phenomena are.”
According to the latest report released in November 2024 by the Department of Defense’s Aerial Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the agency received 757 UAP reports between May 2023 and June 2024.
Despite the large number of cases, AARO Director Jon Kosloski stated during a Senate hearing in November 2024, “It is important to emphasize that so far, AARO has not found any verifiable evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life, activity, or technology.”
“In all the cases that AARO has handled, there are no indications of advanced capabilities or cutting-edge technology,” he said, adding that while some cases may exhibit anomalous features, these require AARO and its partners to invest significant time, resources, and conduct targeted scientific investigations.
Kosloski told the Senate that for some unresolved cases, the Department of Defense still cannot provide an explanation.