Washington D.C.: Former US President Barack Obama has reignited global curiosity about extraterrestrial life after saying aliens are “real” while dismissing long-standing conspiracy theories about a secret government cover-up at Area 51.
In a podcast interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama was asked, “Are aliens real?”. He responded simply, “Yes. they are real.”
However, he clarified he has never personally seen them and rejected the idea that the US government is secretly storing alien beings. “But I haven’t seen them. They’re not being kept at Area 51,” he said, adding there was no underground facility unless an enormous conspiracy hid it even from the President of the United States.
Area 51, a highly classified US Air Force base in Nevada, has long been linked to rumours about recovered spacecraft and extraterrestrial bodies. Obama dismissed those claims outright, saying he had no knowledge of such a programme during his presidency.
He also joked that when he first became president, the first question which he wanted answered was, “Where are the aliens?”
Obama did not provide evidence of alien contact. In a 2021 interview, Obama had said, “When it comes to aliens, there are some things I just can’t tell you on air.” He had also confirmed that UAP sightings are genuine. However, he said that the US government has not been able to identify where these objects come from. “But what is true and I’m actually being serious here is that there’s footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” he had added.