US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he is directing federal agencies to begin “identifying and releasing” government files of UFOs and aliens, a move long sought by conspiracy theorists and transparency advocates in America.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “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).”
While he did not specify whether classified documents would be made public, Trump said the files should include “any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”
Earlier, Trump claimed that his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama had revealed “classified” information during a recent viral podcast appearance discussing extraterrestrial life.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them and they’re not being kept in… Area 51,” Obama told host Brian Tyler Cohen, referring to the top-secret US military facility in Nevada that features prominently in UFO conspiracy theories.
“There’s no underground facility. Unless, there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”
Asked about Obama’s remarks on Thursday, Trump told reporters that Obama “gave classified information, he is not supposed to be doing that.”
He did not specify which part of Obama’s comments constituted classified material, but claimed “he made a big mistake.”
When pressed about his own beliefs regarding aliens, the 79-year-old Trump said “I don’t know if they are real or not.”
No credible evidence has emerged to date confirming the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth.
Interest in UFOs and UAP has intensified in recent years as the US government investigated numerous reports of unexplained aerial phenomena, fuelled by concerns that foreign adversaries might be testing advanced technologies.
In March 2024, Pentagon released a report concluding it had no proof that UAP represented alien technology, with most suspicious sightings ultimately identified as weather balloons, spy planes, satellites and other conventional activity.
