President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of improperly sharing “classified information” after Obama joked on a podcast that aliens are real.
The controversy began after Obama appeared on a podcast hosted by Brian Tyler Cohen in an episode that aired Jan. 14.
When asked whether extraterrestrials exist, Obama replied: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.” He added jokingly that they are not being kept at Area 51, as far as he knows.
The clip quickly went viral, fueling speculation online. The following day, Obama posted a clarification stating, “I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
He explained that he was expressing a personal belief that the universe is vast and that life elsewhere is statistically possible.
But Trump said Thursday that Obama should not have made the comment at all.
“I don’t know if they’re real or not,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Georgia, responding to a question from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. “I can tell you he gave classified information. He made a big mistake.”
Trump did not provide further details about what specific information he believed was classified. His remarks appeared to treat Obama’s podcast comments as more than a casual discussion about the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
The exchange comes amid renewed public interest in unidentified aerial phenomena and long-running debates about government transparency.
In recent years, both Congress and the Pentagon have acknowledged investigations into unexplained sightings, though officials have consistently said there is no confirmed evidence of alien contact, per the Daily Mail.
The issue also surfaced at a White House press briefing earlier this week after Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, mentioned on a New York Post podcast that Trump was preparing remarks related to extraterrestrials.
When asked about the possibility of a presidential speech on aliens, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the idea was new to her.
“A speech on aliens would be news to me,” Leavitt said. “That sounds very exciting, though. I’ll have to check in with our speech-writing team.”
She added that the topic would likely generate significant public interest.
While Obama’s original comments were widely interpreted as humorous and speculative, Trump’s criticism underscores the continued political tension between the two presidents. The remarks also highlight how viral social media clips can quickly escalate into broader national conversations.
Neither Obama nor his representatives have publicly responded to Trump’s accusation that he disclosed classified information.
For now, the episode appears to reflect more of a political flare-up than a policy dispute, as both presidents weigh in on a subject that has long captured public imagination but remains officially unresolved.
