Trump Directs Release of Aliens and U.F.O. Files After Obama Remarks
President Trump on Thursday directed his administration to identify and release government files related to U. F. O. s and aliens, saying the move followed public attention to remarks by former President Barack Obama and promising to declassify material where needed.
Aliens files: what the president ordered
In a Truth Social post, the president told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other agency heads "to begin the process of identifying and releasing" any relevant files, and called for the release of "any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters. " He did not set a timeline for the releases.
The announcement came days after Mr. Obama told a podcaster that "they're real, " later clarifying that he had "seen no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!" Mr. Trump criticized the former president for what he called sharing classified information and said, "I may get him out of trouble by declassifying. "
Pentagon findings and past sightings
The military has tracked unidentified aerial phenomena for decades. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office said in a 2024 report that it has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology and has "no indication or confirmation that these activities are attributable to foreign adversaries. " The office also noted that a large number of UAP reports can be explained by birds, balloons, drones, satellites and other everyday phenomena, though many cases remain unresolved.
Public interest in aliens and U. F. O. s has risen in recent years. Last year, one House Republican released a whistleblower video of a U. S. missile striking an unidentified glowing orb and bouncing off it, and in another instance a former Navy pilot spoke on television about frequent sightings of strange, fast-moving objects in restricted airspace.
Next steps and what comes now
The president's directive instructs officials to begin an identification-and-release process but does not specify a schedule. The administration has not provided a timeline for when any files will be posted or what documents will be included. The move follows other prolonged release efforts that have stretched over many months and leaves open when the public will see specific materials.
Officials have said the Pentagon has found no evidence that investigations have confirmed extraterrestrial contact. The next confirmed step is the internal process Mr. Trump ordered: agency heads will identify potentially releasable files and begin procedures to make them public, with no date announced for completion.
