US President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon and other federal agencies to begin identifying and releasing government records related to UFOs and potential extraterrestrial life.
In a post published late Thursday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would instruct the Department of Defense and other relevant agencies to start the process of making files public concerning unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and "alien and extraterrestrial life".
"Based on the tremendous interest shown," Trump wrote, the government would move toward releasing "any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters." The president did not clarify whether classified documents would be fully declassified or how extensive the disclosures would be.
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This comes amid a surge in public attention following recent comments by former President Barack Obama, who said in a podcast interview that, statistically, life elsewhere in the universe is likely. However, he added that he had seen no evidence during his presidency that extraterrestrials had visited Earth or were being held in secret facilities.
After his remarks went viral, Obama issued a clarification on social media, reiterating that while the universe's vastness suggests the probability of life beyond Earth, there is no evidence of alien contact.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump criticised Obama's comments, telling reporters that the former president "was not supposed to be doing that" and suggesting the remarks touched on sensitive territory. You can see Obama and Trump's statements in the videos above.
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Despite decades of speculation, no verified evidence has been produced confirming intelligent life beyond Earth. In 2024, the Pentagon released a report concluding that it had found no proof that UFO sightings were linked to alien technology, attributing most incidents to surveillance aircraft, satellites, and weather balloons.
Still, Trump's announcement quickly drew support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who chairs a congressional task force on UAP, thanked the president publicly and said she looked forward to reviewing the materials with the public. Democratic Senator John Fetterman also welcomed the decision, calling it a positive step toward transparency...