President Trump on Thursday directed his administration to release files on UFOs and any “alien and extraterrestrial life,” an issue that has drawn decades of public fascination — and spawned more than a few wild theories.

In a Truth Social post, the president told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other agency heads “to begin the process of identifying and releasing” any relevant files. 

Mr. Trump also called for the release of “any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”

It’s not clear what files on UFOs might be released — or what information they may contain. The Pentagon has tracked reports of what it calls unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs, for decades. But the military said in a 2024 report there’s no evidence that any government investigation into UAPs has confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial life.

Mr. Trump’s announcement came just days after one of his predecessors, former President Barack Obama, made waves by telling a podcaster that aliens are real. He later clarified that he never saw evidence of contact between humans and extraterrestrial life during his time in the White House, and he primarily believes that extraterrestrial life is real because “statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.”

Asked Thursday about Obama’s comments, Mr. Trump told reporters he isn’t sure whether or not aliens exist, but added that the former president “made a big mistake” and “gave classified information.”

“I may get him out of trouble by declassifying,” Mr. Trump said.

This is a breaking story; it will be updated.