Former US President Barack Obama has once again weighed in on the long-running debate around extraterrestrial life, saying he believes aliens are real but dismissing claims that they are being hidden at Area 51. He made the remarks during a podcast interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cowen, released on Saturday.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said. He added, “They’re not being kept in Area 51, there’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States."
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Area 51, a highly classified US Air Force base at Groom Lake in Nevada, has for decades been at the centre of conspiracy theories. Many believe it houses alien spacecraft or extraterrestrial remains, including debris allegedly recovered from Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Other theories suggest the site is used to develop futuristic technologies such as intergalactic weapons, time travel, teleportation or even weather-control systems, according to The Independent.
Renewed focus on UFO and UAP sightings
Public interest in alien life has intensified in recent years, particularly after the release of government documents detailing unexplained aircraft sightings. Leaked radar footage captured 13 years ago by US Air Force Reaper drones reportedly showed Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), the updated government term for UFOs, moving through airspace over West Asia.
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In 2021, the Pentagon declassified three US Navy videos that showed unusual flying objects moving at high speeds, with personnel reacting in astonishment. One of the objects appeared to rotate while flying against the wind.
OBAMA SAYS ALIENS ARE REAL BUT THEY’RE NOT IN AREA 51 pic.twitter.com/PX6fBJFNi0
— RT (@RT_com) February 14, 2026
Obama’s earlier remarks on UFOs
This is not the first time Obama has addressed the topic. During a 2021 appearance on 'The Late Late Show' with James Corden, he joked, "When it comes to aliens, there are some things I just can’t tell you on air.” He later clarified that the UAP sightings were authentic and acknowledged that the government could not determine the origin of the craft or fully explain their unusual flight patterns. He stressed that he was being serious and confirmed that footage and documentation of unidentified objects in the sky do exist.
Obama’s latest comments come months after a documentary filmmaker alleged a broad government cover-up of non-human intelligence and suggested that former President Donald Trump might soon acknowledge the existence of alien life.
