TIME: Trump Says Government Will Declassify Alien Files

[Montauk]

I don't know if this has been talked about in another thread but I thought it would be good to make one just in case there isn't.

I guess in response to Obama's problematic comment on UFO's on Brian Taylor Cohen's podcast, Trump announced Thursday night that he will order the public disclosure of government records related to extraterrestrial life.

Time published an article about it this morning which I will summarize the most important bits.

From TruthSocial on Thursday:

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. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

And earlier that day, Trump answered a question from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about Obama's comment and if Trump had seen any evidence of such things. Trump said that "[Obama] gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that."

Doocy then queried "So aliens are real?" to which Trump replied, "Well I don't know if they're real or not."

Doocy then suggested that Trump could declassify anything he wants , to which Trump smirked, "I may get him out of trouble if I declassify," seemingly still referring to Obama.

Interestingly, commentators such as Republican congressman Thomas Massie, have suggested that Trump's declassification order is meant to draw attention away from the Epstein files.

Massie posted on X:

They've deployed the ultimate weapon of mass distraction, but the Epstein files aren't going away…even for aliens.

 

[deirdre]

Doocy then queried "So aliens are real?" to which Trump replied, "Well I don't know if they're real or not."

youtube shorts:


Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/eK0XZXVUtcM?si=K8B3rtDvDaMjCV3c


Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/EvPhUbWpPj4?si=c3DMzG0obmAp2998

 

[tjskep]

AARO is doing their job on that front what does trump think all these uap hearings were for? This is all just a distraction from the epstien files why wont he declassify them? Right.

 

[Hevach]

This is no less than the fourth set of super secret files he promised to release in their full unredacted glory and so far we got a tiny fraction of one and only after it got several boxes of sharpies emptied on it.

 

[Rick Robson]

This is no less than the fourth set of super secret files he promised to release in their full unredacted glory and so far we got a tiny fraction of one and only after it got several boxes of sharpies emptied on it.

I find interesting -- and would like to know precisely why -- many people (if not most of the commenters about this issue) don't address/reference John Greenewald Jr.'s X (twitter) message to the Secretary of War about the tons of highly classified UFO records withheld from the American people to this day. Oh well...


Source: https://x.com/theblackvault/status/2024672469156843616

 

[Ann K]

I find interesting -- and would like to know precisely why -- many people (if not most of the commenters about this issue) don't address/reference John Greenewald Jr.'s X (twitter) message to the Secretary of War about the tons of highly classified UFO records withheld from the American people to this day.

"Precisely why", in my case, is that since I don't use X I never heard this before. You bring it up, which is fine if it interests you, but seem to be upset that nobody else did it first.

 

[Hevach]

The only proof I've seen from him is that he keeps submitting FOIA requests and getting nothing back. It doesn't prove anything has been withheld, only that he hasn't found anything.

Lying is in fact protected first amendment activity.

 

[Nemon]

I don't know if the recent little disclosure initiative with Lara Trump was a trial balloon on this matter or independent of it. But is it conceivable that they managed to foist it upon him as something to champion?

I mentioned this as a side note on how the US UFO industry leverages its tangled web of connections to push its agenda right up to the top levels of politics. But seriously: the case is crystal clear. The President desperately needs new populations to rip off with tariffs. He's running out of countries on Earth he can hit

 

[Rick Robson]

"Precisely why", in my case, is that since I don't use X I never heard this before. You bring it up, which is fine if it interests you, but seem to be upset that nobody else did it first.

I can't even sleep at night because of that ha ha!

 

[Rick Robson]

The only proof I've seen from him is that he keeps submitting FOIA requests and getting nothing back. It doesn't prove anything has been withheld, only that he hasn't found anything.

Lying is in fact protected first amendment activity.

Regarding your opinion here I don't know whether he has or hasn't "found anything". Maybe @Mick West, who's retrospectively held quite a few discussions with John on X, can clarify my doubt.

 

[Mendel]

Please note that "identify and release" does not mean "declassify". If e.g. AARO was forced to release its case files, they'd be heavily redacted before release, I hope.

This is no less than the fourth set of super secret files he promised to release in their full unredacted glory and so far we got a tiny fraction of one and only after it got several boxes of sharpies emptied on it.

Didn't we get the JFK files?

 

[JMartJr]

This is all just a distraction from the epstien files why wont he declassify them? Right.

The timing of this suggest otherwise, at least to an extent. He dove into the UFO topic as he reacted to Obama's statement that aliens exist (as many believe). For reasons beyond the scope of this thread, and beyond my direct knowledge anyway, the current President decided to post that in doing so the former President had somehow released classified information and took the opportunity to attack the former President...again.

It is indeed possible that the later decision to order the release of evidence and files regarding aliens and UFOs was motivated in whole or in part by hopes it could distract to some extent from the Epstein scandal engulfing his administration. But the initial impetus to discuss UFOs at all came from reacting to Obama's statement.

February 19, 20264:49 PM EST Updated February 20, 2026

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would direct federal agencies to begin releasing government files related to aliens and unidentified flying objects, pointing to what he described as strong public interest in the issue.
In a social media post, Trump said he would order Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and other agencies to release the information, calling the matter "extremely interesting and important."

Earlier in the day, Trump, without providing evidence, accused former President Barack Obama of improperly disclosing classified information when discussing aliens publicly, saying Obama "made a big mistake."
"He took it out of classified information ... He's not supposed to be doing that," Trump told reporters while traveling to Georgia.
During an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen released on Saturday, Obama was asked if aliens were real.
"They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in ... Area 51. There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States," Obama said.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-claims-obama-revealed-classified-information-when-he-said-aliens-are-real-2026-02-19/

It will be interesting to see what gets "disclosed. I have elsewhere noted (and perhaps some of you are getting tired of it, but I think it needs to be where it can be seen by folks who come here, read this thread then do not read the rest of the site), we have had disclosure repeatedly before. The Blue Book files were declassified and made public, for example, and the CIA files on the topic were released after FOIA became available as a tool to pry information out of the government. The Condon Report was commissioned by the Air Force, studied cases from Blue Book as well as cases provided by NICAP and APRO (two UFO "research" clubs active at that time in privately collecting UFO reports and evidence) and reached its conclusions, which were disclosed. The CIA backed Robertson Panel report has been declassified and released. We have had the recent congressional committee hearings, and now-largely-forgotten testimony to Congress or to members of Congress dating back to 1963, when Gerald Ford (R-MI) solicited testimony. (Ford had gotten interested in UFOs after a flap in Michigan, and had become an adversary of debunkers such as -- at that time-- Dr. Hynek after Hynek famously suggested swamp gas as a possible explanation for some of the sightings, irritating some of Ford's constituents.)

What is always disclosed is the same -- here are some of the UFO stories we have, but the evidence does not support the idea that there is anything new or amazing going on.

Repeating disclosure will be unlikely to cause that to suddenly change.

The only novel factor in a "disclosure" coming from the current administration would be that we have not had an administration so prone to casual and repeated and outrageous disregard for the truth, nor one so comfortable swimming in the sea of conspiracy theories. So it is possible we are about to get hit with a tidal wave of bunk, I suggest everybody here get ready for having to deal with a lot of arrant nonsense all at once.

Of course, it is also possible that the President, having posted to social media, will lose interest, move on and nothing will come of his post.

Let's watch, shall we?

 

[jdog]

...

It will be interesting to see what gets "disclosed. I have elsewhere noted (and perhaps some of you are getting tired of it, but I think it needs to be where it can be seen by folks who come here, read this thread then do not read the rest of the site), we have had disclosure repeatedly before. The Blue Book files were declassified and made public, for example, and the CIA files on the topic were released after FOIA became available as a tool to pry information out of the government. The Condon Report was commissioned by the Air Force, studied cases from Blue Book as well as cases provided by NICAP and APRO (two UFO "research" clubs active at that time in privately collecting UFO reports and evidence) and reached its conclusions, which were disclosed. The CIA backed Robertson Panel report has been declassified and released. We have had the recent congressional committee hearings, and now-largely-forgotten testimony to Congress or to members of Congress dating back to 1963, when Gerald Ford (R-MI) solicited testimony. (Ford had gotten interested in UFOs after a flap in Michigan, and had become an adversary of debunkers such as -- at that time-- Dr. Hynek after Hynek famously suggested swamp gas as a possible explanation for some of the sightings, irritating some of Ford's constituents.)

What is always disclosed is the same -- here are some of the UFO stories we have, but the evidence does not support the idea that there is anything new or amazing going on.

...

We also have to remember that past releases have also included non-governmental documents submitted to the government in support of personal beliefs, like newspaper clippings, personal letters, copies of documents found online, copies of hoaxed photos, etc.

It's entirely possible that we'll wind up getting a million pages of stuff and it will include multiple copies of some 4Chan post about undersea alien bases because people emailed AARO or the Navy or the CIA asking them to look into it.

Or entire copies of /r/ufos and Metabunk...

 

[NorCal Dave]

The timing of this suggest otherwise, at least to an extent.

Agreed. While it certainly might be a temporary distraction from other things, like the Epstein files, I just don't think he's 3 moves ahead on the chess board triangulating UFOs with tariffs and whatever else to cover-up the limited disclosure of said files. To borrow a Bushism (possibly an SNL one), I don't find him a deep thinking strateegerist. He shoots from the hip and any chance to take a shot at another president, there by inflating himself in his mind, he'll do it. No thought or planning needed, it's pure reaction.

Like you, I'll risk repeating myself here and say to the UFOlogists, "be careful what you wish for." Based on the past events you cataloged, the likely outcome of Trump's latest "I can do whatever I wantism" will be nothing. Maybe a secret air craft or 2 might be revealed, maybe more instances of agencies using UFO stories to cover up other stuff, but the idea that files are going to come out confirming something like Bob Lazar's Sport Model flying saucer really is held near Area 51 is just nonsense.

Much of the UFO media complex actually survives on non-disclosure, I would argue. If it's all secret, then every week they can have new reports, new episodes, new leaked videos, new whistle-blowers and ever more claims. Look no further than Ross Couthart's repeated claim that he knows of a crashed UFO so big, some government just built a big building over it. He could just reveal where it is, he could lead the disclosure he and the rest of them are all clamoring for. Instead, he just teases it while moving on to ever more ludicrous claims like the "alien skeletons".

It's a lot easier to talk about the need for disclosure and all the secrets that will be revealed when there is no disclosure.

 

[deirdre]

The only proof I've seen from him is that he keeps submitting FOIA requests and getting nothing back. It doesn't prove anything has been withheld, only that he hasn't found anything.

if nothing has been withheld then why do we keep getting leaks from Coulthart and the guy with the pretty beard?

releasing all the stuff would put them out of business.

 

[Mick West]

Regarding your opinion here I don't know whether he has or hasn't "found anything". Maybe @Mick West, who's retrospectively held quite a few discussions with John on X, can clarify my doubt.

He posts everything he finds. Whether it's "anything" is rather subjective. There are lots of interesting documents showing internal conversations. I don't recall anything that was good evidence of aliens/NHI.

 

[Todd Feinman]

Trump was interviewed by his son about Roswell, previously. He said it was "very interesting":
Link to NBC News

George W. Bush was previously asked by Jimmy Kimmel about UFOs. He said he wouldn't talk about it:
YouTube link here

 

[deirdre]

For reasons beyond the scope of this thread, and beyond my direct knowledge anyway, the current President decided to post that in doing so the former President had somehow released classified information and took the opportunity to attack the former President...again.

he didnt post it, he said it light heartedly to Peter Doocy [his buddy]...which is why i posted the actual chat above. Peter told him Obama said aliens are real. Well for Obama to say that he must be giving classified info right?? Obama later clarified his remarks as apparently others were misunderstanding him as well.

People need to lighten up. He didnt 'attack' Obama he was light hearted and making jokes. he doesnt believe in aliens.
And why would he distract from the epstein files? If there was anything bad about him in there then he just would have had Bondi hold it back (and the Biden administration would have released it years ago).

People really need need to chill out a bit.

 

[Todd Feinman]

he didnt post it, he said it light heartedly to Peter Doocy...which is why i posted the actual chat above. Peter told him Obama said aliens are real. Well for Obama to say that he must be giving classified info right?? Obama later clarified his remarks as apparently others were misunderstanding him as well.

People need to lighten up. He didnt 'attack' Obama he was light hearted and making jokes.
And why would he distract from the epstein files? If there was anything bad about him in there then he just would have had Bondi hold it back (and the Biden administration would have released it years ago).

People really need need to chill out a bit.

Obama did kind of step in it.. He had previously been asked about UFOs and basically said there were things like them, so he was no newbie to being asked about it.
Obama previously asked by Kimmel about UFOs. He says he can't talk about it:
YouTube Link
There was a rumor going around on UFO podcasts that someone familiar to everyone would come forward and say they were real at about this time, iirc.

 

[deirdre]

Obama did kind of step in it..

maybe to people who take this topic seriously. his answer to the second question was funny as hell. (i love dead pan humor. even if he did crack a smile at the end there)

 

[Ann K]

People need to lighten up. He didnt 'attack' Obama he was light hearted and making jokes. he doesnt believe in aliens.

Trump doesn't make jokes. He says things he's serious about and then, if they don't go over well, he pretends they're jokes. Invading Greenland was a "joke", and his desire for a Nobel prize was a "joke", etc.

 

[Todd Feinman]

Trump doesn't make jokes. He says things he's serious about and then, if they don't go over well, he pretends they're jokes. Invading Greenland was a "joke", and his desire for a Nobel prize was a "joke", etc.

T'aint funny. None of them.