Trump announces Pentagon UFO files release: 'We found many very interesting documents'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump announces Pentagon UFO files release: 'We found many very interesting documents'")
US President Donald Trump addresses a Turning Point USA event entitled "Build the Red Wall" at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 17, 2026. Photograph: (Combination created using images from AFP and Freepik)
Did Donald Trump just promise to reveal UFO secrets? At a Phoenix event, he said classified files on unidentified aerial phenomena will be declassified soon.
What’s really in these documents and why now? Scroll down to read more.
In a major shift for government transparency, US President Donald Trump has promised that a ‘Great Disclosure’ is imminent. Speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday (Apr 17), the President made a shocking announcement, saying that the Pentagon will begin releasing highly classified files on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) and UFOs “very, very soon,” a disclosure he said he had been saving specifically for this audience. Trump revealed that he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to begin the declassification process. "I thought I'd save it for this crowd, because you're a little bit out there," he joked.
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UFO files incoming
Speaking to a crowd of young conservative voters, Trump revealed that the US government was in possession of "many very interesting documents". The US president promised that the "first releases will begin very, very soon."
The announcement wasn't entirely out of nowhere. Trump had posted on Truth Social in February, directing Hegseth and other relevant agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files related to "alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and unidentified flying objects." Hegseth subsequently told reporters his department was "digging in" to the files and would comply with the president's instructions.
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Congressional pressure behind the release?
Over the past few months, congressional pressure has been building on the same front. The House Oversight Committee's UAP Task Force sent a letter to Hegseth in March requesting more than 45 video files dating back to 2019, with a deadline of April 14. The request followed September hearings where whistleblowers testified that the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, a Pentagon division, possessed video records of UAP encounters. The footage reportedly includes sightings of cigar-shaped and spherical objects, UAP formations near Iran and Syria, incidents near US military bases and airports, and a 2023 shootdown over Lake Huron. One file allegedly shows UFOs in formation over the Persian Gulf.
"The lack of disclosure regarding the very real threat posed by UAPs in and around US restricted airspace is concerning," the congressional letter stated, adding that their presence near sensitive military installations posed security and readiness risks.
Obama confirms aliens exist
Around the same time, former US president Barack Obama also sparked speculation when, during a podcast, he confirmed that UAP files exist, but stopped short of confirming alien life. "They're real, but I haven't seen them," he said, adding that there was no underground facility holding aliens, "unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president."
