Trump Orders Release Of Files On UFOs And Aliens After Criticizing Obama
Topline
President Donald Trump on Thursday night announced that he will order the Defense Secretary and other federal agencies to identify and release documents related to Unidentified Flying Objects and extraterrestrial life, just hours after he criticized former president Barack Obama for leaking “classified information” on such matters after his remarks on a podcast.
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace” at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
In a Truth Social PostTrump wrote, “Based on the tremendous interest shown,” he will be directing government agencies to identify and release government documents on extraterrestrials.
Trump said the files release will cover information on “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).”
The president also described these as” highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”
Trump’s post comes hours after he told reporters that Obama had given away “classified information” with his comments on a podcast saying aliens were “real,” during a lighthearted, rapid-fire question-and-answer segment.
The president was asked if this meant that extraterrestrial beings were real, and he said: “I don’t know if they’re real or not. I can tell you, he gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that — he made a big mistake.”
Chief Critic
In a post on XRep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote: “They’ve deployed the ultimate weapon of mass distraction, but the Epstein files aren’t going away…even for aliens.” Over the past few months, Massie has regularly clashed with the Trump administration over its handling of the Epstein files.
What Had President Obama Said About Aliens Being ‘real’?
Over the weekend, Obama appeared on YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcastwhere they discussed a myriad of issues and criticized the Trump administration’s actions. The interview closed with a lighthearted “lightning round” in which Cohen asked, “Are aliens real?” The former president responded, “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” before adding, “they are not being kept in…Area 51,” a reference to a popular conspiracy theory. “There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States,” he added. When Cohen asked Obama about the first question he wanted answered after becoming president, Obama quipped, “Where are the aliens?” and laughed.
Crucial Quote
As his comments garnered interest online, the former president issued a clarification on Instagram, saying: “I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.” He then added, “The distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens are low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
How Has The Betting Market Reacted To Trump’s Alien Post?
Bookmakers on the online betting platform Polymarket now believe there’s a 19% chance the U.S. government will confirm the existence of aliens before 2027. That is a 7-point bump since Trump’s Truth Social post. Bets on this wager have crossed $4.4 million in trading volume. On Kalshibettors predict there’s now a 28.3% chance that the U.S. will confirm that aliens exist before 2027, a 11-point bump since Trump’s announcement.
