Trump Drops Big Update On Aliens, Orders Govt. Agencies to Release Info

President Donald J. Trump forcefully pushed back this weekend after former President Barack Obama made eyebrow-raising remarks about unidentified anomalous phenomena — commonly referred to as UFOs — suggesting some information on the matter remains classified.

In a podcast interview released Saturday, Obama referenced a 2004 encounter involving unexplained aerial objects near the U.S. Navy, describing the situation as “not knowing exactly what was going on,” while noting that certain details were classified.

President Trump, now serving his second term in office, responded bluntly, calling Obama’s comments a “big mistake” and questioning why a former commander-in-chief would allude to classified material in a public forum.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump announced he would move toward transparency on the issue, directing War Secretary Pete Hegseth and other agencies to begin identifying and preparing records for declassification related to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), UFOs, and even the broader question of extraterrestrial life.

“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), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

While aboard Air Force One, Trump sharpened his criticism, arguing that Obama crossed a line by discussing matters that may involve classified intelligence.

“He gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump 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. He took it out of classified information.”

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump directly whether he had seen any proof of non-human visitors to Earth. The president declined to speculate but reiterated his concern over Obama’s public comments.

For his part, Obama appeared on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast Saturday and was asked outright whether aliens exist.

“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said, according to Fox News.

Obama also dismissed longstanding speculation about Nevada’s Area 51, stating there is no hidden underground facility holding extraterrestrials “unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”

After his remarks went viral, Obama attempted to clarify on Instagram.

“I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify,” he wrote. “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But 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!”

Cohen also asked Obama what his first question was upon taking office in January 2009 — prompting another tongue-in-cheek remark.

“Uh, where are the aliens?” Obama joked.

This was not the first time the former president entertained the topic. In a 2021 appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Obama recounted how he looked into claims of secret alien research facilities after entering office and concluded no such operation existed.

Still, he acknowledged that some aerial phenomena remain unexplained.

“There is footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” he said. “We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. I think people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”

As public interest in UFO disclosures continues to grow, President Trump’s pledge to pursue further declassification aligns with his broader second-term commitment to transparency, accountability, and restoring trust in federal institutions. Whether Obama’s comments were off-the-cuff speculation or something more consequential, the renewed focus on classified materials is likely to intensify scrutiny in the weeks ahead.