US President Donald Trump has stated that he is instructing federal agencies to publish government documents discussing extraterrestrial life, unexplained aerial phenomena, and unidentified flying objects, UNN reports.
Details
"Given the immense interest, I am directing the Secretary of War and other relevant departments and agencies to begin the process of identifying and publishing government documents related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), as well as any other information related to these extremely complex, but incredibly interesting and important issues," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday evening.
As Bloomberg notes, earlier on Thursday, Trump accused former US President Barack Obama of disclosing classified information when discussing the idea of extraterrestrial life during a recent podcast appearance.
"He disclosed classified information, he shouldn't have done that," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. The US President suggested that he could "get Obama out of trouble" by declassifying the relevant information.
Earlier this month, in an interview with liberal commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama stated that aliens are "real," though he added that he himself had not seen them, "and they are not kept in Area 51." The former US President later clarified that he did not mean any special knowledge.
In 2021, the US intelligence community published a report detailing what is known about unidentified flying objects observed by military pilots over the past few decades. The declassified report contained few definitive answers and did not mention theories that aliens might have been involved, but stated that the government wants to take reports of such incidents more seriously.
In the same year, the Pentagon released videos showing American military pilots tracking unidentified flying objects that rotated or rapidly changed direction in the air.
Trump's desire to focus on the alien issue comes at the beginning of a tense midterm election year, with the public paying close attention to information revealed in documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein - many of which mention Trump by name - as well as the issue of housing affordability, which has negatively affected his approval ratings.
Republicans face an uphill battle to retain their majority in Congress, as polls show voters are frustrated with the US president's approach to managing the economy and the cost of living.
Earlier on Thursday in Georgia, Trump declared victory on the issue of housing affordability, signaling an unwillingness to accept the idea of growing economic problems as he begins campaigning for Republican candidates across the country.
Trump, Bloomberg writes, has been repeatedly criticized by Democrats for disclosing classified information and was indicted on federal charges of willfully retaining classified Department of Defense documents after his first term. This case was subsequently dropped after his re-election in 2024.
More than 700 UFO reports: Pentagon report declassified17.11.24, 04:01