Trump orders release of classified UFO, extraterrestrial government records

2026-02-20 - 04:42

President Donald Trump declared Thursday that he has ordered the Secretary of War and relevant federal departments to begin identifying and declassifying government records pertaining to extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and UFOs. In a Truth Social post, Trump cited "tremendous interest shown" in these matters and described the files as "highly complex, but extremely interesting and important." Obama's Comments and Classification Questions Earlier Thursday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that former President Barack Obama "gave classified information" when confirming the existence of extraterrestrial life, adding: "He's not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake." Trump suggested he "may get him out of trouble by declassifying" the information, though it remains unclear what specific disclosures he referenced. Obama had stated during a podcast conversation that aliens "are real," while clarifying he had not seen them and that they are not kept at Area 51 "unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States." Official Clarification and Public Interest Obama subsequently released an Instagram statement explaining he "was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round," noting that statistically "the odds are good there's life out there" but that distances between solar systems make visitation unlikely. He affirmed he "saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us." Area 51, a highly classified Air Force facility in Nevada, has long been central to conspiracy theories about extraterrestrial life, though its officially acknowledged purpose remains aircraft testing. Trump's declassification order opens the door for potential release of previously undisclosed government records on these topics.