In a big win for “X-Files” fans, President Donald Trump revealed Thursday night that he planned to direct Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other government agencies to release files about extraterrestrial life.
“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 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,” said the president in a Truth Social post.
In March 2024, the Department of Defense released a report that covers UFO and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) research going back to 1945. An All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’s Historical Record Report found no evidence that any UAP sighting is linked to extraterrestrial activity.
During an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in October 2024, shortly before winning the presidential election, Trump said that “do you think we have aliens coming” was one of his most asked questions. While he told Rogan that he had never been a “believer” in extraterrestrial life, Trump said interviews with pilots have made him reconsider that position.
“There’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life, you know,” said Trump. When Rogan countered that finding life on Mars today isn’t likely, Trump said there might be “life that we don’t know.”
Rogan himself has an interest in UFOs and extraterrestrial life David Fravor, retired Commander in the U.S Navy, who detailed his experience with a UFO from 2004 here, has joined his show in the past.
Trump isn’t the only U.S. president who is open to the possibility that aliens might be real. Former President Barack Obama also recently said on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast that he thinks aliens are real – though he clarified that he “hasn’t seen them.”
CBS News said that Trump addressed Obama’s comments Thursday. The outlet said Trump “isn’t sure if aliens exist.”
Last year, Harvard scientist Dr. Avi Loeb made headlines for his theory that the 3I/ATLAS comet was possibly a ship piloted by extraterrestrial life. He joined Audacy’s Something Offbeat to discuss his research on the subject.
YouGov polling from last November found that most Americans (56%) believe aliens exist. Many (47%) think that aliens have paid a visit to Earth in recent years.
“Americans are more likely to believe alien encounters would have a negative effect on human civilization than to think it would have a positive effect, and many believe that aliens would bring new diseases and unintentional harm or outright hostility to people if we were to encounter them,” said YouGov.
It’s not yet clear exactly when or how the files regarding UFOs and extraterrestrial life might be released. However, past file releases might provide some insight.
Trump previously ordered the release of files related to the assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy and others. Files related to Kennedy released last year are available here via the National Archives.
Though there was some pushback from Trump administration officials, the federal government also recently released an extensive file dump related to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Those files are available here via the U.S. Department of Justice.