The former U.S. president Barack Obama said that he has no evidence of contact with aliens and clarified his position after his remarks on a podcast drew widespread attention online.
He found himself in the spotlight over the weekend after allegedly confirming the existence of aliens during an interview with American podcast host Bryan Tyler Cohen.
At the end of the conversation, which touched on a wide range of serious topics, Cohen asked a series of questions in a “rapid-fire” round, the first of which: “Do aliens exist?”
“Do aliens exist?”
– Bryan Tyler Cohen, podcast host
News of these answers quickly spread through international media and social networks. On Sunday evening Obama released a statement to clarify his position.
He posted a clip of his words on Instagram with a brief note: “I tried to adhere to the spirit of the rapid-fire, but since it drew attention, let me clarify. Statistically, the Universe is so vast that the probability of life beyond Earth is high.”
“And the distances between star systems are so large that the chances of aliens visiting us are low, and during my presidency I did not see evidence of contact with extraterrestrials. Indeed!”
“I tried to adhere to the spirit of the rapid-fire, but since it drew attention, let me clarify. Statistically, the Universe is so vast that the probability of life beyond Earth is high.”
– Barack Obama
First of all, Obama emphasized that the existing remarks about UFOs were part of a conversation, not an official confirmation of contact. He also mentions well-known accounts of Area 51 and long-standing conspiracy theories related to intelligence and reverse engineering after the Roswell incidents.
In June 2019, YouGov conducted a survey: 54% of adults in the U.S. believe the government knows more about UFOs than it reports. CNN journalist Chris Sillizza contributed to this piece.
Despite numerous discussions and conspiracy theories, Obama repeats: there is no evidence of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations during his tenure, and the topic continues to be discussed as part of a broader dialogue about space and sources of information.