President Donald Trump is directing the release of government files “related to alien and extraterrestrial life” and other related topics.
Trump announced Thursday night he’s directing top officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to begin 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.”
The Independent has contacted the White House for more information.
Just hours before his announcement, Trump accused former President Barack Obama of making a “big mistake” and sharing “classified information” after he suggested aliens are real on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast over the weekend.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in … Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States,” Obama told the podcaster.
Obama later clarified his answer on Instagram: “I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.”
The Independent has contacted Obama’s office for comment.
Officials have been quick to react to Trump’s comments.
Hegseth re-shared the announcement on X, along with an alien emoji and a salute emoji. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote: “OUT OF THIS WORLD NEWS from President Trump.”
Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, discussed the move during a Fox News interview with Jesse Watters on Thursday night.
“If he’s going to release all of the X-Files, I think that could be a bipartisan thing,” Fetterman said, referring to the 1990s TV show, which follows two government agents as they investigate aliens and other unexplained phenomena.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie suggested Trump’s announcement could be a “distraction” from the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
“They’ve deployed the ultimate weapon of mass distraction, but the Epstein files aren’t going away… even for aliens,” he posted on X.
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman, wrote: “What about the 2 million unreleased Epstein files tho.”
