Former U.S. President Barack Obama said aliens are “real,” but emphasised that he never encountered any indication of extraterrestrial contact while in office.
He made the remark during a rapid-fire segment of an interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen in Los Angeles on 14 February.
When asked "Are aliens real?."
He replied jokingly, "They’re real, but I haven't seen them," before dismissing the idea of hidden facilities at Area 51.
“There's no underground facility. Unless there's this enormous conspiracy. And they hid it from the President of the United States.”
When pressed on what he first wanted to know after entering the White House, Obama replied: "Where are the aliens?", laughing with Cohen as he recalled the moment.
The clip went viral, prompting Obama to issue a clarification on social media on 15 February.
He wrote that, statistically, the scale of the universe makes the existence of life elsewhere plausible, but that the distances between solar systems make the likelihood of contact extremely low.
He added that he saw no proof that extraterrestrials had ever visited Earth.
“I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!” Obama said later in a post on social media.
Area 51 is a remote U.S. Air Force installation in southern Nevada whose existence was formally acknowledged in 2013 when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released Cold War records confirming it had been used to test the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and later the A-12 Oxcart programme.
The documents showed the facility operated as a high-security range for advanced surveillance projects, with secrecy maintained to protect classified aircraft capabilities.
The site became further embedded in public imagination through the 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico, where debris initially reported as a “flying disc” was later identified as part of Project Mogul, a Cold War balloon programme designed to detect Soviet nuclear tests.
The Roswell episode helped shape decades of speculation, though no released U.S. government records have tied Area 51 to extraterrestrial activity.
Interest surged again in 2019 when a viral campaign titled “Storm Area 51” attracted millions of online pledges to gather near the base.
Local authorities prepared for a large turnout, but only a few thousand people arrived in Nevada, and the gatherings remained peaceful.
Reuters reports that Congress held its first public hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) in more than 50 years on 17 May 2022, where Pentagon officials confirmed hundreds of military sighting reports.
In July 2023, senators introduced measures requiring the release of government UAP records and expanding federal data-collection efforts.
The U.S. Air Force reminded the public that the installation is an active, restricted military site and that unauthorised entry is prohibited.
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' As...
According to U.S. media, Cole Tomas Allen, aged 31, carried guns and knives while he attempted to storm the White House Correspondents...
U.S. President Donald Trump says it was "too expensive" for Witkoff and Kushner to go to Islamabad as Iran says they are waiting to ...
China’s growing use of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles took centre stage at the Beijing Auto Show 2026, which opened on 2...
More than 1,000 firefighters are battling to contain two major wildfires in northern Japan for a fourth consecu...
Iran is pursuing a dual-track strategy in the Strait of Hormuz, balancing cooperation with South Korea while increasing military pressure, as tensions disrupt shipping and raise concerns over regional stability.
President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. could impose "big" tariffs on British goods if the UK does not remove its digital services tax. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump said Washington was ready to act in response to the levy on major American technology firms.
European Union leaders were set to discuss the bloc’s mutual assistance clause at a summit in southern Cyprus on Thursday, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of traditional allies raises concerns over his commitment to NATO.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have approved Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of the media group, advancing a deal valued at roughly $110 billion including debt in a move that could reshape Hollywood and the global entertainment industry.
Argentina has reiterated its interest in resuming talks with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, a disputed archipelago in the South Atlantic, after reports that an internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing Washington’s support for the UK’s claim amid tensions over the Iran war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Azerbaijan for talks with President Ilham Aliyev, holding meetings in Gabala on Saturday (25 April) during a working visit to the country.
Diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war suffered a setback on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled a planned envoy visit to Pakistan for talks, even as parallel regional diplomacy continued and military tensions escalated in Lebanon.
China’s growing use of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles took centre stage at the Beijing Auto Show 2026, which opened on 24 April, highlighting the country’s expanding clean transport ambitions.
The United States has issued an international warning accusing Chinese firms, including AI start-up DeepSeek, of allegedly stealing intellectual property from American artificial intelligence labs.
According to U.S. media, Cole Tomas Allen, aged 31, carried guns and knives while he attempted to storm the White House Correspondents' Dinner in the Hilton Washington hotel on Saturday, 25 April 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner by Secret Service agents after a 31 year old suspect attempted to storm event.
More than 1,000 firefighters are battling to contain two major wildfires in northern Japan for a fourth consecutive day, as flames advance towards residential areas and force thousands to flee.
Militants have staged coordinated attacks in Mali’s capital, Bamako, and several locations across the country, the army said on Saturday (25 April), in an assault apparently involving jihadist and Tuareg-led groups.
Two men were killed after the United States carried out a missile strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday (24 April), the military said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment