WASHINGTON—President Trump is stepping into alien territory.
Based on “tremendous interest shown,” Trump said in a social-media post Thursday night, he will direct the defense secretary and relevant departments to begin the process of releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, unidentified flying objects “and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”
Trump’s order comes amid renewed interest in aliens after former President Barack Obama said
WASHINGTON—President Trump is stepping into alien territory.
Based on “tremendous interest shown,” Trump said in a social-media post Thursday night, he will direct the defense secretary and relevant departments to begin the process of releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, unidentified flying objects “and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”
Trump’s order comes amid renewed interest in aliens after former President Barack Obama said on a podcast over the weekend that “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.”
Obama’s comments set off a firestorm online, forcing him to walk them back later.
“I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify,” Obama wrote on social media. “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 are low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
Trump was asked about Obama’s comments as he traveled to Georgia on Thursday for a speech on the economy, and accused the former president of giving classified information. “I don’t know if they’re real or not. I can tell you, he gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that—he made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information.”
Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Alyssa Lukpat at alyssa.lukpat@wsj.com
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