New (?) Politico article "Which Presidents have seen UFOs?"

[DavidB66]

Via a reference in the UK Times today, I found an article in the magazine/website Politico , dated November 17 2023, credited to Garrett M. Graff, with the headline "Which Presidents have seen UFOs? Yep, it's more than one." This is not to be confused with another article in the same journal by the same author but dated on the previous day! Mr Graff is a busy bee (he also has a book out). The earlier article has been extensively discussed on Metabunk, but as far as I can see the article of 11/17/23 has not. (Apologies if I have overlooked some discussion, but I did try searching.) A link is here for anyone who is interested:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/17/us-presidents-ufo-obsession-00127519

The main theme of the newer article is the question raised in the title: which US Presidents claim to have seen UFOs, but more broadly, what interest have they shown in the subject? The short answer is that Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter both claim to have seen UFOs, while Presidents Ford, Clinton and Obama have shown some interest. For me the most interesting factual 'nugget' in the article is that Jimmy Carter's UFO sighting was actually solved, long after the event: Carter's report was accurate, but it can be explained by the high-altitude release of Barium from a rocket as part of some atmospheric research, at exactly the right time and place.

Nothing in the article suggests that any Presidents have received official briefing confirming non-human 'visits' to Earth, even when, as in the case of Clinton, they had specifically asked for information. But perhaps mere Presidents don't have high enough security clearance!

 

[deirdre]

The short answer is that Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter both claim to have seen UFOs

i can't find proof of this. i only find hearsay of hearsay.

 

[Duke]

Via a reference in the UK Times today, I found an article in the magazine/website Politico , dated November 17 2023, credited to Garrett M. Graff, with the headline "Which Presidents have seen UFOs? Yep, it's more than one." This is not to be confused with another article in the same journal by the same author but dated on the previous day! Mr Graff is a busy bee (he also has a book out). The earlier article has been extensively discussed on Metabunk, but as far as I can see the article of 11/17/23 has not. (Apologies if I have overlooked some discussion, but I did try searching.) A link is here for anyone who is interested:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/17/us-presidents-ufo-obsession-00127519

The main theme of the newer article is the question raised in the title: which US Presidents claim to have seen UFOs, but more broadly, what interest have they shown in the subject? The short answer is that Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter both claim to have seen UFOs, while Presidents Ford, Clinton and Obama have shown some interest. For me the most interesting factual 'nugget' in the article is that Jimmy Carter's UFO sighting was actually solved, long after the event: Carter's report was accurate, but it can be explained by the high-altitude release of Barium from a rocket as part of some atmospheric research, at exactly the right time and place.

Nothing in the article suggests that any Presidents have received official briefing confirming non-human 'visits' to Earth, even when, as in the case of Clinton, they had specifically asked for information. But perhaps mere Presidents don't have high enough security clearance!

Let's not forget Eisenhower meeting the aliens at Holloman AFB, NM.

The 34th President of the United States met the extra terrestrials at a remote air base in New Mexico in 1954, according to lecturer and author Timothy Good.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/20...with-extra-terrestrials_n_1275692.html?ref=uk

 

[JMartJr]

i can't find proof of this. i only find hearsay of hearsay.

One evening in 1969, two years before he became Governor of Georgia, Carter was preparing to give a speech at a Lions Club meeting. He reported that at about 7:15 pm, one of the guests called his attention to a strange bright white object, about as bright as the moon, that was about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where they were standing. It moved toward their direction, but stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from them. The object then changed color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance.

Carter felt that the object was self-illuminated, and not solid in nature. Carter's report indicates that it was witnessed by about ten or twelve other people, and was in view for ten to twelve minutes before it passed out of sight

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_UFO_incident
That one's pretty well established.

A week later Reagan recounted the sighting to Norman C. Miller, then Washington bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. Reagan told Miller, "We followed it for several minutes. It was a bright white light. We followed it to Bakersfield, and all of a sudden to our utter amazement it went straight up into the heavens." When Miller expressed some doubt, a "look of horror came over [Reagan]. It suddenly dawned on him . . . that he was talking to a reporter." Immediately afterward, according to Miller, Reagan "clammed up."

Reagan has not discussed the incident publicly since.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/ronald-reagan-ufo.htm
That one is less well documented, but does not seem hugely unlikely... moderately boring "light in the sky" report that sounds a lot like a jet kicked in its afterburner (light elongated) and sped away.

Neither future President reported flying saucers landing and aliens delivering messages of ecological import or the like -- they both saw a light in the sky and didn't recognize it. Heck I've done that, and I'm not even a President!

 

[DavidB66]

Let's not forget Eisenhower meeting the aliens at Holloman AFB, NM.

I don't know about that, but I forgot to mention Harry S. Truman as one of the 'interested' Presidents covered in the article.

I'm not vouching for the accuracy of Graff's article, just drawing it to readers' attention. It's not a peer-reviewed historical paper. No footnotes! There are however several checkable details. For example, the statement that

[Gerald] Ford led a congressional investigation into strange sightings in his home state of Michigan in the 1960s,

could be checked by anyone who knows their way around congressional records (not me).

 

[deirdre]

but does not seem hugely unlikely

it doesnt seem unlikely. i was looking for Norman Miller himself reporting Reagan told him that and all i could find (quick search) were links back to ufo books.

 

[JMartJr]

I don't know about that, but I forgot to mention Harry S. Truman as one of the 'interested' Presidents covered in the article.

I recall he was involved in interrogating Zoidberg at Roswell, so he'd definitely be interested?

 

[Mendel]

[Gerald] Ford led a congressional investigation into strange sightings in his home state of Michigan in the 1960s,

could be checked by anyone who knows their way around congressional records (not me).

Knowing my way around Google...

Article:

For one week in March 1966, Michigan was awash with reports of UFO sightings. Scores of people called police to report suspicious items in the sky. Ultimately, the Air Force dismissed these sighting as nothing more than "swamp gas," causing then-Congressman Gerald Ford to fire off an indignant statement, declaring people deserved a better explanation than something as laughable as swamp gas.

Source: https://www.michiganradio.org/environment-science/2013-10-10/when-gerald-ford-demanded-answers-for-ufo-sightings-in-michigan

From the Gerald Ford Presidential Library, the attached PDF has his UFO correspondence.
Source: https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0054/4525586.pdf