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By Peter Aitken and Joe Edwards
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President Donald Trump on Thursday said his predecessor, Barack Obama, made a "big mistake" and disclosed "classified information" when he spoke about aliens in a recent interview.
"He gave classified information," Trump told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy. "He’s not supposed to be doing that. I don’t know if they’re real or not…I can tell you he gave classified information. He made a big mistake.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Obama Foundation for comment via email on Thursday afternoon.
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Why It Matters
Trump has repeatedly addressed the subject of aliens and UFOs over the years, usually striking a tone of skepticism mixed with curiosity rather than outright belief.
He has said he received briefings as president on reported UFO sightings by U.S. pilots, acknowledged meeting with “serious people” who claimed to have seen unexplained objects, but consistently added that he was “not a believer,” even while conceding that “anything is possible.”
Trump has also hinted at knowing more than he was willing to say publicly, including remarks about the Roswell incident that he described as “very interesting” without offering details.
A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans say their best guess is that intelligent life exists on other planets.
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What did Barack Obama Say About Aliens on Brian Tyler Cohen's Podcast?
During a wide-ranging interview with journalist Brian Tyler Cohen published last weekend, the former president confirmed that aliens are real, but that he had not personally seen them, and that they are not 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.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump addressed Obama's comments, saying that he personally is not sure if aliens are "real or not," but that in speaking on the matter, Obama "gave classified information."
Obama had already downplayed his comments with a follow-up post on social media, in which he said he was "trying to stick to the spirit of the speed round," clarifying: "Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!"
Obama's attempt to downplay the comments drew skepticism online.
What Has Donald Trump Said About Aliens?
In June 2019, Trump said he had been briefed on Navy UFO reports and expressed doubt, stating to ABC News: “I did have one very brief meeting on it,” adding that “people are saying they’re seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly.”
Also in 2019, he told Tucker Carlson he wasn’t convinced UFOs existed. “Well, I don't want to really get into it too much. But personally, I tend to doubt it," Trump said. "I'm not a believer, but you know, I guess anything is possible.”
In June 2020, when his son, Donald Trump Jr., asked him about revealing “what’s really going on with Roswell,” Trump answered, per The Hill: “I won’t talk to you about what I know about it, but it’s very interesting.”
Appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2024, Trump also expressed skepticism, saying that he’d never been a believer.
On Greg Gutfeld's Fox News show in September 2024, Trump said the question he may get more than any other is about aliens in Area 51, and repeated that pilots told him of a “round object going faster than my F-22.”
Update 2/19/26, 4:26 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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