Trump promises 'very interesting' UFO files, but scepticism persists

President Donald Trump has said the Pentagon is preparing to release a fresh batch of previously undisclosed files on unidentified flying objects (UFOs), renewing debate over extra-terrestrial life while drawing a mix of public curiosity and scepticism.

The announcement builds on a directive issued in February, when Trump ordered federal agencies to declassify records related to UFOs, now commonly referred to as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) as well as any material linked to possible extra-terrestrial activity. Since then, he has repeatedly hinted at new revelations, suggesting that some documents have never been shared publicly.

“We’re going to be releasing a lot of things that we haven’t,” Trump said at a White House event honouring NASA astronauts. “I think some of it’s going to be very interesting to people.”

Trump has leaned into a broader message of transparency, positioning himself as a leader willing to open up government secrets. Early in his return to office, he authorised the release of long-classified records related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.—though those disclosures largely reinforced existing public knowledge.

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Framing the UFO releases in similar terms, Trump has argued that “the American people deserve transparency and truth”. Speaking at a political event in Phoenix in April, he said the first set of disclosures would arrive “very, very soon”, adding that the public would be able to judge the evidence for themselves.

Expectations rise, but experts urge caution

Despite the renewed political focus, the process of reviewing and releasing UFO-related material has been underway for years. The Pentagon has been gradually declassifying such records, often citing national security concerns when withholding details.

In 2022, the US Congress established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to investigate UAP incidents and oversee disclosures. Its first major report, released in 2024, documented hundreds of previously unreported sightings but found no evidence that the US government had confirmed encounters with alien technology. A follow-up report is expected soon.

The office is now working with the White House to release additional “never-before-seen” material, according to Pentagon statements. However, some former officials have pushed back against expectations of major revelations.

Sean Kirkpatrick, who previously led the office, dismissed the idea of hidden breakthroughs, calling the renewed attention a distraction. He said there was no evidence of classified documents showing contact with extra-terrestrial beings.

“Readers should not get their hopes up,” he said, adding that widely circulated videos often have more routine explanations. According to Kirkpatrick, advanced infrared imaging used by the US military can create visual distortions that make ordinary objects appear unusual, helping explain footage that has gone viral online.

Politics, pressure and persistent fascination

On Capitol Hill, those types of videos have caught the attention of a small group of Trump-aligned Republicans who insist the Pentagon is holding back secrets.

The Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets has been conducting its own investigation into reports of mysterious aircraft near U.S. military installations, which the panel says pose a threat to national security and the armed forces.

Last fall, the task force heard testimony from current and former service members who described UAP encounters. In one case, a senior Navy officer said he was off the coast of California in 2023 when he saw a glowing “Tic Tac” shaped object emerge from the ocean and link up with three similar objects. They sped away in an instant, he said.

Trump's interest in the subject has energized congressional Republicans, including Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, an Air Force veteran who co-chairs the task force. Luna has criticized what she calls “less than adequate” transparency from the Pentagon.

In a March letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Luna demanded dozens of UAP videos identified by whistleblowers and labelled with names such as “Spherical UAP in clouds.” Her deadline for Hegseth came and went, and no videos were produced.

Trump's entry to the UFO fray drew applause from Luna, who last year told podcaster Joe Rogan that she has seen evidence of “interdimensional beings.” The Pentagon “can’t hide from our docs request anymore!” Luna said on social media after Trump's directive.

Vance professes to be ‘obsessed’ with UFO files

Trump appears sceptical about the existence of extraterrestrial life. Addressing the Turning Point USA crowd in Phoenix, he said, “I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people, you’re really into that. I don’t know if I am.”

Why he made the revelation at that event, held at a megachurch, is unclear. A day earlier, Trump had spoken in Las Vegas, not far from Area 51, a top-secret Cold War test site that has fuelled UFO conspiracy theories.

Vice President JD Vance has described himself as “obsessed” with UFO files. In March, he said he has been trying to find time to investigate Area 51 since he took office.

“I’ve still got three more years as vice president,” Vance told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. “I will get to the bottom of the UFO files.” Invoking his Christian faith, Vance said he believes sightings reported to be aliens are actually the work of spiritual demons.

Even before Trump tackled the topic, alien buzz was already in the air.

It's back in Hollywood with an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie, “Disclosure Day.” Former President Barack Obama made a splash in February when he declared on a podcast that aliens are real. He later clarified that he had seen no evidence but that “the odds are good there’s life out there.”

Trump is hardly the first president drawn to UFO mysteries. President Bill Clinton has said he once ordered a review of the Roswell Incident — something had crashed in 1947 at a New Mexico ranch and officials later said the debris was the remnants of a high-altitude weather balloon — around its 50th anniversary in 1997. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan claimed to have seen UFOs before their time in the White House.

The U.S. government has been investigating UFO reports since the 1940s, in part to determine if they represent advanced technology from competing nations or “evidence of off-world technology,” according to the Defence Department's 2024 report.

In online communities devoted to UFOs, some see Trump's promise as a step in the right direction; others believe it will come to nothing. For people who follow the topic closely, promises of big revelations have never lived up to the hype, said Greg Eghigian, a Pennsylvania State University professor who wrote a book on the history of UFO sightings.

“There is almost no satisfaction that is possible for many of the really die-hard folks,” he said. “So in a sense, I think disappointment can almost be guaranteed to be expected no matter what comes out of this.”

With inputs from agencies