US President Trump Orders Release of Alien and UFO Files amid Obama Remarks
by Basit Jamiu, https://www.facebook.com/legitngnews · Legit.ng News · Join- US President Donald Trump says he will order the release of government files on aliens and UFOs, citing public interest in the subject
- The announcement comes after former President Barack Obama remarked in a podcast that he believes aliens are real, sparking widespread debate
- Trump criticised Obama’s comments, while insisting he himself has no firm opinion on the existence of extraterrestrial life
United States President Donald Trump has announced that he will instruct federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, to begin identifying and releasing government files on aliens and extraterrestrial life.
The declaration was made in a post on Truth Social on February 19, where Trump said the move was “based on the tremendous interest shown” in the subject.
According to BBC, he added that the release would cover information on “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.”
Obama’s comments on aliens
The announcement followed remarks by former US President Barack Obama, who told podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen last Saturday that he believes aliens are real. Obama said: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in Area 51.” He added: “There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”
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After his comments made headlines, Obama clarified on Instagram that he was speaking about the statistical likelihood of life beyond Earth, given the vastness of the universe.
He wrote: “I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
Trump criticises Obama
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Thursday, February 19, Trump accused Obama of revealing classified information, saying:
“He’s not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake.”
Asked if he personally believes aliens are real, Trump replied:
“Well, I don’t know if they’re real or not.”
He added that while many people believe in their existence, he “doesn’t have an opinion on it” and rarely discusses the topic.
Renewed public interest in UFOs
Public interest in UFOs and extraterrestrial life has grown in recent years. In 2017, reports emerged about a secret Pentagon programme investigating testimony from US military pilots who had reported seeing strange objects in the sky. In 2022, Congress held its first hearings on UFOs in 50 years, and the Pentagon set up a dedicated office to collect reports of military encounters.
A US House of Representatives panel in 2023 produced no major revelations, and a Pentagon report in 2024 stated there was “no evidence” that the US government had encountered alien life, adding that most UFO sightings were ordinary objects.
Trump’s admin releases top US secret kept hidden for decades
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Justice Department released a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein files following Attorney General Pam Bondi's review of classified documents in the case.
However, the highly anticipated client list was not included in the release.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.