Obama, Trump and the New Push for UFO Disclosure
Written by Christopher Sharp - 4 March 2026
Former President Barack Obama unleashed a storm, whether he meant to or not.
When American podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen asked, “Are aliens real?”, Barack Obama gave an answer that exceeded expectations: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in Area 51,” he said in the interview released on 14 February.
He added: “There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States"
Soon, the world’s press swarmed around the story. Barack Obama had stated on record that aliens are real.
A day later, Obama rowed back. On Instagram, he posted: "I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!"
It did little to calm the public reaction.
Days later, aboard Air Force One, reporter Peter Doocey, citing Obama’s comments, asked President Donald Trump whether he had seen any evidence of non-human visitors to Earth.
Trump responded, accusing Obama of giving classified information, adding, “he made a big mistake - he took it out of classified information.” Trump added that he would look to get Obama out of trouble by declassifying information.
Shortly afterwards, the White House was pressed on Trump’s comments - after all, what was classified about Obama’s comments? Why would the fact that the aliens are real be classified, for example?
When pressed with such questions, the White House told Fox News ‘There’s nothing to add to the President’s comments tonight.’
Then, rather than soften his remarks, Trump later announced he would direct US agencies, including the Department of War (DoW), to ‘begin the process of identifying and releasing’ government files on aliens and extraterrestrial life.
Since that announcement, little further information has emerged.
The main exception came on 28 February, when the DoW said its Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), is working closely with the White House and across federal agencies to consolidate existing UAP records and collections ahead of releasing information that has never before been seen.
That was met with an outcry from within the UAP community, where trust in the AARO remains low. The office has been beset by inaccuracies in its historical UAP report and further damaged by criticism over its previous director’s attacks on whistleblowers.
Despite such concerns, Liberation Times understands that disclosure relating to advanced non-human intelligence and its interaction with Earth remains a real possibility.
Last week, investigative journalist Jeremy Corbell said in an interview with Piers Morgan that discussions are taking place within the White House and the Pentagon over how any disclosure should be handled, including whether radical honesty should shape the core public message.
In that interview, he added that the U.S. government needed to take four steps, which he would later post on his X account:
‘Formal admission of the known facts
Formal admission of the unknowns
Formal acknowledgement of the UAP presence & reality [that we are not alone. that we never have been]
Formal articulation of the preliminary definitions, determinations, and global defense concerns that caused the secrecy in the first place.’
Corbell added:
‘President Trump - you now hold something no president has held so openly before: public permission and trust to tell the truth. The witnesses have testified. The footage exists. The conversation has already begun. The only thing missing is formal acknowledgment from the highest office in the land.’
Speaking to Liberation Times, one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested that exotic vehicles of unknown origin recovered by the U.S. government could be disclosed because China and Russia are already believed to have recovered similar vehicles.
The source said there should be a way to share the recovered craft itself with civilian scientists and engineers. As they put it:
“I believe the non-human craft itself, as a raw source material, can and should be shared with civilian scientists and engineers.”
They argued that nuclear science provides the clearest precedent for how this could work in practice. While the most sensitive aspects would remain tightly controlled, the wider scientific value of the material could still be explored. As they put it:
“I view nuclear science as the relevant precedent: while nuclear weapons designs remain strictly restricted, the underlying science allows for nuclear power plants to be commercially built and utilized.”
The source said civilian oversight of non-human technology would be possible under a dedicated regulatory structure modelled on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission:
“I believe the oversight of civilian non-human technology is possible. I believe the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission can serve as an ideal model for this framework.”
The source added:
“This commission would regulate the possession, use, processing, and handling of NHI material.
“Its responsibilities would include issuing licenses and inspecting licensed facilities and activities, developing and implementing rules and regulations to govern licensed NHI technology activities. And investigating the misuse of NHI technology, such as unauthorized weaponization.”
They said this kind of structure would help ensure the technology is handled responsibly, safely and fairly across any future non-human technology enterprise.
At the same time, the source drew a clear distinction between sharing the craft as source material and disclosing any technologies derived from it.
They said any exploited technology should remain protected because of the strategic advantage it gives the United States, adding:
“I believe that the specific technology derived from the exploited craft should never be openly disclosed as to its origin. This technology currently positions the United States at a significant global strategic advantage.”
Commenting on the Trump administration’s move to release UAP files, former acting director of the AARO, Tim Phillips, appeared to downplay what might be disclosed, stating on LinkedIn:
‘UFO believers will be disappointed by what is disclosed; there is no US Government evidence for beings or their craft visiting Earth.’
Two Liberation Times sources agreed with Phillips’ statement, but added an important nuance: that such beings and their technologies were present on Earth before humans evolved.
Another source said any plans for UAP disclosure would need to take account of both religious and mental health impacts on the global population.
They suggested the Vatican should be involved, not only because of the scale of the global Catholic population, but also because it may hold relevant knowledge, stating:
‘The Vatican needs to be involved because of their knowledge, and 1.3 billion people are Catholic. Disclosure will be a public health emergency.’
As for the U.S. government’s response, the source added that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would need to play a key role, as would the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which sits within his department.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response leads the nation's medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies.
John Priestland, chairman of uNHIdden, a London-based mental health and wellbeing charity, said there is already a credible reason to plan for the psychological effects of any major disclosure event.
He pointed to the charity’s own research into the mental health implications of potential disclosure. He argued that the absence of a coordinated government response makes preparation a matter of prudence rather than speculation.
Priestland told Liberation Times:
“uNHIdden has conducted the first public-health style health needs assessment examining the psychological implications of potential disclosure. Our analysis suggests that in a high-impact scenario millions of people could require support.
“The Royal Society warned as far back as 2011 that if extraterrestrial life is detected a coordinated response should already be in place — yet no such plan currently exists. It is simply prudent to prepare for plausible high-impact scenarios rather than assume they will never occur.”
