President Trump on Thursday directed his administration to launch information on UFOs and any “alien and extraterrestrial life,” a difficulty that has drawn many years of public fascination — and spawned quite a lot of wild theories.
In a Reality Social put up, the president advised Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth and different company heads “to start the method of figuring out and releasing” any related information.
Mr. Trump additionally known as for the discharge of “any and all different data related to those extremely advanced, however extraordinarily attention-grabbing and necessary, issues.”
It isn’t clear what information on UFOs may be launched — or what data they may include. The Pentagon has tracked reviews of what it calls unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs, for many years. However the navy mentioned in a 2024 report there is not any proof that any authorities investigation into UAPs has confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial life.
Mr. Trump’s announcement got here simply days after one among his predecessors, former President Barack Obama, made waves by telling a podcaster that aliens are actual. He later clarified that he by no means noticed proof of contact between people and extraterrestrial life throughout his time within the White Home, and he primarily believes that extraterrestrial life is actual as a result of “statistically, the universe is so huge that the chances are good there’s life on the market.”
Requested Thursday about Obama’s feedback, Mr. Trump advised reporters he is not positive whether or not or not aliens exist, however added that the previous president “made a giant mistake” and “gave labeled data.”
“I’ll get him out of bother by declassifying,” Mr. Trump mentioned.
Public curiosity in UAPs has grown in recent times. Pilots and navy service members have reported recognizing lots of of unexplained objects within the sky, main some lawmakers to press the Pentagon to examine the phenomena and decide whether or not they pose a menace to security or nationwide safety.
Final yr, one Home Republican launched a whistleblower video of a U.S. missile placing an unidentified glowing orb within the sky and bouncing off it. And in one other case, a former Navy pilot advised “60 Minutes” about frequent sightings of unusual, fast-moving objects in restricted airspace.
Numerous UAP reviews may be defined by birds, balloons, drones, satellites and different on a regular basis phenomena, in accordance with the navy’s All-domain Anomaly Decision Workplace. However many circumstances stay unresolved.
“It is very important underscore that, so far, AARO has found no proof of aliens, exercise, or know-how,” the workplace mentioned in a 2024 report. The workplace additionally famous that it has “no indication or affirmation that these actions are attributable to overseas adversaries.”
