Trump Directs Government to Release UFO Files

President says he doesn't know if aliens are real but wants transparency on unidentified aerial phenomena.

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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President Donald Trump announced that he is directing the Pentagon and other government agencies to identify and release files related to extraterrestrials and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), citing "tremendous public interest" in the topic. Trump said he doesn't know if aliens are real, but wants to declassify information on the matter. This comes after former President Barack Obama recently suggested in a podcast that aliens are real, which Trump accused of disclosing classified information.

Why it matters

The renewed public interest in UFOs and potential extraterrestrial life has led to increased government transparency on the issue, with Congress holding hearings and the Pentagon creating a new office to collect reports of military UFO encounters. However, officials have stated that the vast majority of UFO reports remain unsolved and that there is no evidence of any extraterrestrial technology or activity.

The details

In a social media post, Trump said he was directing government agencies to release 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." Trump made the announcement hours after accusing former President Obama of disclosing "classified information" when Obama suggested in a podcast that aliens were real. Trump told reporters he doesn't know if aliens are real, but said he may "get [Obama] out of trouble by declassifying."

  • On February 20, 2026, President Trump announced he was directing the government to release files on UFOs and extraterrestrials.

The players

Donald Trump

The former President of the United States who is directing government agencies to release files on UFOs and extraterrestrials.

Barack Obama

The former President of the United States who recently suggested in a podcast that aliens are real, which Trump accused of disclosing classified information.

Lara Trump

The daughter-in-law of former President Trump who suggested this week that Trump had a speech prepared to deliver on aliens that he would give at the "right time."

Karoline Leavitt

The White House press secretary who responded with a laugh when asked about Lara Trump's comments and told reporters "A speech on aliens would be news to me."

Sean Kirkpatrick

The former head of the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) who said in 2023 that the office had not found any evidence of any program to reverse engineer extraterrestrial technology.

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What they’re saying

“I don't know if they're real or not.”

— Donald Trump, President (NPR)

“I may get him out of trouble by declassifying.”

— Donald Trump, President (NPR)

“statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there.”

— Barack Obama, Former President (NPR)

“A speech on aliens would be news to me.”

— Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary (NPR)

“AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology.”

— Sean Kirkpatrick, Former Head of AARO (NPR)

What’s next

The Pentagon and other government agencies will work to identify and release files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs as directed by President Trump.

The takeaway

While there remains significant public interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, the U.S. government has not found any conclusive evidence to support the existence of aliens or advanced extraterrestrial technology. The release of additional files on this topic could shed more light on what the government knows, but is unlikely to definitively prove or disprove the existence of aliens.