Trump Directs Pentagon and Agencies to Identify and Release UFO, UAP and Extraterrestrial‑Life Files After Obama Comments
On Feb. 19, 2026, after comments to reporters aboard Air Force One, former President Trump posted on Truth Social directing the Pentagon and other agencies to identify and release files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life,” unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), accusing President Obama of disclosing classified information. Obama’s team responded that he has seen no evidence of extraterrestrial contact and was speaking statistically, while U.S. probes — including AARO’s June 2024 unclassified report that logged 485 UAP reports (118 later identified as prosaic objects) — have found no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial activity.
📌 Key Facts
- On Feb. 19, 2026, after remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One returning from Georgia, former President Trump posted on Truth Social directing the government to identify and release files on 'alien and extraterrestrial life,' unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
- Trump’s public order explicitly told the Pentagon and other agencies to locate and release any and all information related to aliens, extraterrestrial life, UAP and UFOs; he also stated on camera that he was 'ordering the release of all government documents related to aliens and UFOs.'
- Aboard Air Force One Trump said, 'I don't know if they're real or not,' claimed he had 'no opinion' and suggested he might 'get [Obama] out of trouble by declassifying,' while accusing former President Obama of having 'given classified information' by saying aliens are 'real' on a podcast.
- Obama and his team quickly clarified that his original remark—that 'the odds are good there's life out there'—was a statistical comment about the likelihood of life in the universe; Obama and his posts emphasized he had seen no evidence that extraterrestrials 'have made contact with us.'
- The action came against a recent background of intensified U.S. scrutiny of UAPs: the 2017 Navy video disclosures, 2022 congressional hearings, creation of the All‑Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in 2022, and AARO statements in 2023–24 finding no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial beings or technology.
- AARO’s unclassified June 2024, 18‑page report logged 485 UAP reports from the prior year, identified 118 as prosaic objects (balloons, birds, drones), and left the remainder unresolved but not demonstrated to be extraterrestrial.
- AARO’s former director Sean Kirkpatrick has said he found no evidence of any U.S. program reverse‑engineering extraterrestrial craft and characterized most identified UAP cases as benign or explicable.
- Separately, Lara Trump said a speech about aliens was 'ready' to be delivered, a claim the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed and laughed off as 'would be news to me.'
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 20, 2026
5:10 PM
Trump says he doesn't know if aliens are real but directs government to release files on UFOs, more
New information:
- Clarifies Trump’s on‑camera comment aboard Air Force One: he says explicitly, "I don't know if they're real or not" and that he personally has 'no opinion' and 'never talks about it.'
- Provides Obama’s full clarification that he has seen no evidence aliens have made contact, and that his 'life out there' line was a statistical argument about the size of the universe, not a disclosure of secret contact.
- Adds White House reaction to Lara Trump’s claim that Trump had a prepared 'alien speech': Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laughs off the idea and says such a speech 'would be news to me.'
- Reiterates AARO’s prior public stance: former director Sean Kirkpatrick said in 2023 he had no evidence of any program to reverse‑engineer extraterrestrial tech, and that the identified UAP cases to date are mostly benign such as drones.
- Restates quantitative context from the June 2024 18‑page unclassified AARO report: 485 military UAP reports in the prior year, 118 attributed to ordinary objects, with the remainder unresolved but not shown to be extraterrestrial.
2:20 PM
Trump says he's ordering release of files related to UFOs and "alien and extraterrestrial life"
New information:
- CBS clip provides the direct, on‑camera formulation from Trump that he is 'ordering the release of all government documents related to aliens and UFOs.'
- It shows the immediate Obama response, in which he posts on Instagram clarifying that he saw no evidence of extraterrestrial contact while in office and emphasizing, 'Really!'
7:06 AM
Trump says he doesn't know if aliens are real but directs government to release files on UFOs
New information:
- Concrete timing and venue: Trump made the directive public in a Feb. 19, 2026 social-media post after comments to reporters aboard Air Force One returning from Georgia.
- Additional context on Obama: NPR details that Obama first mused that 'the odds are good there's life out there,' then later clarified he had seen no evidence aliens have contacted us.
- Expanded background on U.S. UFO work: The piece walks through the 2017 Navy videos leak, 2022 congressional hearings, the 2022 creation of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, and 2023–2024 AARO statements and reporting that found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings or technology.
- Specific AARO data: The June 2024 18‑page unclassified report logged 485 UAP reports in the prior year, with 118 identified as 'prosaic' objects (balloons, birds, drones), and emphasized that AARO had found no extraterrestrial evidence.
5:43 AM
Trump orders UFO files release after slamming Obama over alien comments
New information:
- Specifies that Trump’s directive was announced Thursday evening on Truth Social and followed a Fox News question aboard Air Force One earlier in the day.
- Adds Trump’s accusation that former President Obama 'gave classified information' and 'made a big mistake' by saying aliens are 'real' on a podcast, claiming Obama drew from 'classified information.'
- Provides Obama’s fuller podcast context and subsequent clarification that he saw no evidence of extraterrestrial species in office and was speaking statistically about life in the universe.
- Reiterates the 2024 unclassified Pentagon UAP report’s finding that Cold War‑era UFO spikes were largely advanced U.S. spy‑plane tests and that there is no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial activity.
2:29 AM
Trump says he doesn't know if aliens are real but directs government to release files on UFOs, more
New information:
- Trump, in a February 19, 2026 Air Force One gaggle, said, 'I don’t know if they’re real or not' regarding aliens and claimed he might 'get [Obama] out of trouble by declassifying' after accusing Obama of disclosing 'classified information' about aliens in a podcast.
- Trump’s Truth Social post that night explicitly orders the Pentagon and other agencies to identify and 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 those topics.
- Obama’s team later clarified that he has not seen evidence aliens 'have made contact with us,' and that his remarks about aliens were a statistical argument about life in the universe, not a claim of classified knowledge.
- The article recaps that AARO’s 18‑page June 2024 unclassified report documented 485 UAP reports in the prior year, with 118 identified as 'prosaic objects' like balloons, birds and drones, and that AARO’s former head Sean Kirkpatrick said in 2023 he had no evidence of any U.S. program reverse‑engineering extraterrestrial craft.
- Lara Trump recently claimed on a podcast that Trump had a speech about aliens 'ready' for delivery at the 'right time,' a claim press secretary Karoline Leavitt laughed off, saying such a speech 'would be news to me.'