President Trump is directing his administration to begin releasing government documents related to aliens and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), he announced Thursday evening.
The big picture: Trump's comments on Truth Social came hours after he accused former President Obama of disclosing classified information for saying aliens are "real" in a podcast last week.
Context: Obama clarified in Saturday's podcast interview with host Brian Tyler Cohen that he saw no evidence of extraterrestrial species during his time in office and noted after the clip went viral that "statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there."
Zoom in: Fox News' Peter Doocy asked Trump aboard Air Force One earlier Thursday about Obama's comments.
- "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."
Zoom out: There have been multiple reports of UFOs and aliens for decades, though an unclassified 2024 Pentagon report found a surge of these sightings in the 1950s and '60s was likely caused by tests of advanced U.S. spy planes and other tech.
- The matter has been on Congress' radar in recent years, driven by bipartisan concerns about transparency and national security, such as experimental craft from China, Russia, or other U.S. adversaries.
- However, the Pentagon's 2024 report found there was no evidence of confirmed extraterrestrial activity or any other unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).
Go deeper: How past presidents have handled the alien question
Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional context.
