Trump says he will direct U.S. government agencies to release files related to extraterrestrial life

President Donald Trump gestures during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would direct the Pentagon and other government agencies to release government records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs.

“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,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump’s remarks come after former U.S. president Barack Obama drew media attention over the weekend when he appeared to confirm the existence of aliens in an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen.

“They’re real but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said when asked whether aliens are real.

The former president later clarified in an Instagram post that he was referring to the statistical likelihood of life existing on other planets given the vastness of the universe.

“But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us,” he added.

When asked about the comments on Thursday, Trump said on Air Force One, “Well, 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.”

Aileen Graef, CNN