Former President Barack Obama speaks during a “Get Out the Vote” rally for New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill at Essex County College Gymnasium on Nov. 1, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)
By Bryan Chai February 20, 2026 at 8:16am
Former President Barack Obama made waves over the weekend when he appeared to casually confirm the existence of extraterrestrials.
Obama appeared on Brian Tyler Cohen’s “No Lie” podcast on Saturday, covering a wide variety of topics.
When it came to the rapid fire portion of the interview, Cohen pressed the former president on whether or not aliens are real.
“Are aliens real?” Cohen asked Obama.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said, before adding that the sensationalism surrounding urban legends like Area 51 was not real.
“There’s no underground facility,” Obama added.
🚨Former President Barack Obama, in a February 14, 2026, podcast interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, directly addressed UFO speculation.
Asked if aliens are real, Obama replied: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.”
He dismissed Area 51 alien conspiracies, joking there’s no… pic.twitter.com/8kVjByhfr0
— Channel Zero (@channelzer_0) February 15, 2026
The comments understandably went viral, with swathes of viewers absolutely stunned that a former president would so casually admit that extraterrestrial life was real.
Given the viral nature of those remarks, it was only a matter of time before the current president was pressed on the matter as well.
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy did just that during an Air Force One scrum on Thursday.
“Barack Obama said that aliens are real,” Doocy began. “Have you seen any evidence of non-human visitors to Earth?”
“Well, he gave classified information,” Trump said. “He’s not supposed to be doing that.”
“So aliens are real?” an almost-incredulous Doocy responded.
“Well, I don’t know if they’re real or not,” Trump said. “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.”
Trump added, “No, I don’t have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. A lot of people do. A lot of people believe it. Do you believe it Peter?”
“Well, the president can declassify anything that he wants to, so if you want to make an announcement…” Doocy said.
“I may get him out of trouble by declassifying,” Trump joked.
You can watch the entire exchange below:
🚨President Trump says he may declassify the alien files, Obama revealed classified information
Doocy: “Barack Obama said aliens are real. Have you seen any evidence of non-human visitors to Earth?”
Trump: “He gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that.”… pic.twitter.com/9DbffHyVn2
— UAP James (@UAPJames) February 19, 2026
Obama, for his part, has since furiously backtracked on his seeming admission via an Instagram post.
“I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify,” Obama posted. “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!”
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.
Birthplace
Hawaii
Education
Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, Korean
Topics of Expertise
Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech
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