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Topics: Barack Obama, US News, News, Real Life, True Life
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Barack Obama, US News, News, Real Life, True Life
In attempting to clear up one of the world's longest-standing conspiracy theories, Barack Obama has inadvertently gone viral.
Appearing on the No Lie With Brian Tyler Cohen podcast over the weekend (14 February), the former US president made the bombshell claim that aliens really do exist - though, apparently, not in the way we'd expect.
As a reminder, it's long been rumoured that aliens, UFOs and related items are being contained at a highly classified, remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base located in the Nevada desert, known as Area 51.
The US government says the facility is purposed for top-secret flight testing and the development of experimental aircraft and weapons systems, but since the 1950s, it's been said to house alien debris from the crash site of an alleged 'flying disk', found in 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico.
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During the podcast, Cohen asked: "What was the first question you wanted answered when you became president?"
The father-of-two then surprised listeners by immediately confirming it hinged on alien life forms.
"They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in – what is it?" he began. "They’re not being kept at Area 51."
Obama continued: "There's no underground facility, unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States."
Unsurprisingly, his response quickly prompted questions from bewildered listeners as to how he'd come to his assertion, as well as what else the American government might know about life outside of our planet.
Many called upon the former politician to elaborate - which he later did on Instagram.
In a follow-up post, Obama, 61, wrote: "I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.
"But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us."
Hilariously, a number of his online followers were left unconvinced that Obama wasn't withholding further information, even after he added, 'Really!'.
"Blink twice if the aliens made you say this," one fan wrote in the comments.
"No contact with us…YET," another added.
According to The Hill, a poll conducted last year found that almost half of American citizens believe the federal government is hiding proof of alien existence.
When it comes to the current leader, Donald Trump, however, it seems he's far from convinced.
The 79-year-old told Logan Paul in July 2024 he's not yet a 'believer'.
"Probably I can’t say I am," Trump confessed. "But I have met with people that are serious people that say there’s some really strange things that they see flying around out there."
He told podcast presenter Lex Fridman two months later he'd be willing to release government footage of unidentified aerial phenomena in a bid to clear up conspiracy theories of this nature.
"I’ll do that," Trump claimed. "I would do that. I’d love to do that. I have to do that."