Presidential commentary on UFOs didn’t begin in the age of podcasts and social media. For more than 200 years, the question of extraterrestrial life has brushed up against the Oval Office. Invasion Of The Saucer Men Multiple presidents have joked,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's face lit up while answering questions about his assignment to identify and release files on UFOs. Here's what he said. (AP Photo)

President Trump directed his administration to release files on UFOs and any "alien and extraterrestrial life," an issue that has drawn decades of fascination — and spawned more than a few wild theories.

UFOs are back in the news, implying that non-humans have nothing better to do than zip about our skies. The idea is completely absurd, especially given our embarrassingly modest place in the universe.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he was directing agencies to release files pertaining to “alien and extraterrestrial life.”Trump wrote on Truth Social that “based on the tremendous interest shown,

The president’s announcement came after he rebuked his predecessor Barack Obama for saying that aliens were “real.” Obama later said he was just guessing.

President Donald Trump says he’s directing the Pentagon and other government agencies to identify and release files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs because of “tremendous interest.”

The president said he would direct the DOD and other related agencies to “begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life” as well as UFOs.

Lara Trump, the president's son Eric's wife, added some more fuel to rumors that the president is planning to give a speech about the existence of aliens. "He’s kind of been very cool about it, whenever I've heard this come up,

Recent remarks by US president Donald Trump about releasing government files on aliens and unidentified flying objects have once again pushed Area 51 .