US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday (19) that he will instruct government agencies to identify and release files related to unidentified flying objects (UFOs), unidentified aerial specifications and possible forms of extraterrestrial life.
Trump indicated on his account on the Truth Social platform that the measure will seek to collect and make public documents on subjects considered “highly complex, but extremely interesting and important”.
The action will involve the War Department and other federal agencies, and will seek to make transparent information that for decades generated speculation about non-specific aerial identifications and possible forms of extraterrestrial life, according to the president.
Trump’s statements came after controversial comments by former President Barack Obama on a podcast by journalist Brian Tyler Cohen, in which the Democrat agreed to answer a series of quick questions about the possibility of alien life.
When asked if aliens are real, Obama said, “They are real, but I haven’t seen them.” Then he clarified that there are no secret underground facilities unless there was a huge conspiracy that hid information even from the US President.
Trump criticized those words and told reporters aboard Air Force One, the presidential plane, that Obama “disclosed anticipated information” and made “a serious mistake.”
The Republican stressed that he also does not know if aliens are real, but defended the need to make public government documents related to UFOs, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) and possible forms of extraterrestrial life.
Obama later clarified on his social media that, during his presidency, he had not seen “evidence” of contact with extraterrestrials, although he pointed out that, given the vastness of the universe, it is likely that life exists beyond Earth.
Trump’s statements reignited the public debate about government transparency. The interest in these topics has historical antecedents: in 2013, the CIA released documents confirming the existence of the Area 51 military base, created by order of President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s to test the U-2 spy plane.
