Former US President Barack Obama has once again sparked discussion about aliens and unidentified flying objects after saying that extraterrestrials are “real” but not in the way conspiracy theories suggest.
The comments came during a recent podcast interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen. When asked directly whether aliens exist, Obama replied, “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.” His statement quickly drew attention online, with many debating what he meant.
No secret Aliens at Area 51, Obama says
While speaking in the interview, Obama strongly rejected the long-standing claim that the US government is hiding alien bodies or spacecraft at Area 51 in Nevada. “They’re not being kept in Area 51, there’s no underground facility,” he said. He added that such a massive secret would be almost impossible to hide especially from a sitting president.
Area 51, located in the Nevada desert near Groom Lake, has for decades been at the centre of UFO conspiracy theories. US officials, however, have repeatedly said the base is used for testing experimental aircraft and defence technology.
‘The universe Is vast,’ Obama explains
After his comments gained widespread attention, Obama later clarified his position on Instagram. He explained that, statistically speaking, it is very likely that life exists somewhere in the universe because it is so large. However, he also said that the chances of aliens visiting Earth are very low due to the enormous distances between solar systems.
“During my presidency, I saw no evidence that extraterrestrials have made contact with us,” he wrote. In simple terms, Obama suggested that while life beyond Earth may exist, there is no proof that aliens have visited our planet.Earlier statements about unidentified objects
This is not the first time Obama has spoken about unexplained aerial sightings. In a 2021 television interview, he confirmed that US authorities have footage of objects in the sky that cannot be easily explained.
“But what is true,” he said at the time, “is that there’s footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are.”
The US government now uses the term UAPs Unidentified Aerial Phenomena instead of UFOs to describe such sightings.
Public interest in extraterrestrial life increased in 2021 when the Pentagon released three US Navy cockpit videos. The clips showed unidentified objects moving at high speeds, and in one case appearing to rotate against the wind.
