'They Are Real': Obama Talks About Aliens' Existence, But Says US Not Hiding Them At Area 51

Last Updated:February 15, 2026, 10:11 IST

Former US President Barack Obama said the existence of life beyond Earth is possible, even if its whereabouts remain unknown.

Former US president Barack Obama said he believes existence of aliens but firmly dismissed long-running conspiracy theories that the United States is hiding them at Area 51.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by YouTuber Brian Tyler Cowen, Obama said the existence of life beyond Earth is possible, even if its whereabouts remain unknown.

“They’re real," he said when asked about aliens. However, he added that he has never seen any evidence of extraterrestrials being secretly held by the US government.

“They’re not being kept at Area 51. There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States," Obama said, pushing back against popular myths surrounding the Nevada military base.

Public interest in unidentified flying objects, now officially referred to by the US government as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), has grown in recent years following the release of official documents and footage showing unexplained aerial sightings.

These include radar recordings captured more than a decade ago by US Air Force Reaper drones, which reportedly showed unusual objects operating over parts of the Middle East, according to media reports.

Obama has previously spoken about the subject on several occasions. In a 2021 appearance on The Late Late Show with host James Corden, he jokingly suggested there were limits to what he could reveal publicly about aliens, before turning serious about unexplained sightings.

“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," Obama said at the time.

He acknowledged that while such encounters have been documented, the US government has been unable to determine the origin of some of these objects or explain their unusual flight behaviour.

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