TLDR
- Trump announced he will direct the DoD and other agencies to release government files on aliens, UAPs, and UFOs
- The move follows Obama’s podcast comments saying aliens are “real” but aren’t held at Area 51
- Trump accused Obama of leaking classified information about aliens
- The Pentagon logged 757 new UAP reports between May 2023 and June 2024
- Neither Trump nor Obama claims to have seen evidence of extraterrestrial contact with Earth
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he is directing the Department of Defense and other agencies to identify and release government files on alien life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and UFOs.
BREAKING: President Trump directs the Secretary of War and other governmental agencies to release government files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life.” pic.twitter.com/Rjy1Dq04Ha
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) February 20, 2026
Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social. He cited “tremendous interest” in the subject as the reason for the move.
The order covers files related to unidentified aerial phenomena, unidentified flying objects, and “any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters,” Trump wrote.
The announcement came the same day Trump accused former President Barack Obama of revealing classified information about aliens during a public podcast appearance.
“He took it out of classified information… He’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Georgia.
Despite the accusation, Trump said he himself has not seen evidence that aliens exist. “I don’t know if they’re real or not,” he told reporters.
Obama made his comments during an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen, released on Saturday. When asked if aliens were real, Obama said: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in Area 51.”
Obama Clarifies His Position
Obama added there was “no underground facility” at Area 51 “unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”
Donald Trump announces he’s releasing alien files:
“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… pic.twitter.com/9vvdLbhzCF
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 20, 2026
Area 51 is a classified U.S. Air Force base in Nevada. It has long been the focus of conspiracy theories claiming the government stores extraterrestrial materials there.
Following the podcast, Obama posted on Instagram clarifying his comments. He said the universe is vast enough that life elsewhere is likely, but that he saw “no evidence” during his presidency of extraterrestrials making contact with Earth.
Obama had previously said the first thing he wanted to know when he became president was “Where are the aliens?”
Pentagon UAP Reports
The Pentagon has been tracking UAP reports for several years. In late 2024, it reported 757 new UAP sightings between May 2023 and June 2024.
Of those, 21 cases “merit further analysis” due to “anomalous characteristics and/or behaviors,” according to the report.
The Pentagon report stated there was no evidence, so far, to link any of the sightings to life from another planet.
Senior military officials said in 2022 they found no evidence that extraterrestrials had visited or crash-landed on Earth.
Trump’s directive did not include a timeline for when the files would be released or what specific documents would be made public.
