Barack Obama confirms that aliens are real as he sheds light on truth of Area 51 | World | News

Barack Obama has confirmed that aliens exist, but has firmly denied that the top-secret US military base Area 51 houses extraterrestrials. Speaking in a podcast interview, the former president became the first US leader to openly affirm his belief in life beyond Earth, while simultaneously dispelling longstanding conspiracy theories about the Nevada facility.

Mr Obama replied: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them – and they’re not being kept in Area 51. There’s no underground facility, unless there’s some enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.” His comments mark a rare moment of candour on a topic that has fascinated the public for decades and stirred countless online debates.

Area 51, officially an air force base established in southern Nevada during the Cold War, has long been at the centre of rumours claiming it conceals alien technology and UFOs. Despite the speculation, the CIA only publicly acknowledged the base’s existence in 2013, nearly six decades after it first opened.

The site has also been the subject of bizarre viral phenomena, including a 2019 event jokingly promoted on Facebook that invited people to “storm” the base in search of aliens. While more than a million people signed up online, fewer than 150 actually turned up.

In his interview with left-leaning political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Mr Obama also reflected on his presidency, revealing that the first question he wanted to ask upon taking office was: “Where are the aliens?” He stressed that curiosity about the unknown had always intrigued him and framed his interest in extraterrestrial life as a genuine scientific and philosophical question rather than a political one.

Alongside his comments on aliens, the former president did not shy away from critiquing recent US political developments. He described the modern political landscape as a “circus” and compared the rhetoric surrounding national security to historical nativist movements, citing the need for systemic reform rather than reactionary force.

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Mr Obama said: “The breakdown of institutional norms is deeply concerning and dangerous,” but noted that he had found hope in young activists fighting for civil rights.

He also addressed the surge in online misinformation and personal attacks shared by political opponents, condemning such behaviour as troubling and symptomatic of a broader loss of decorum in political life. Without naming specific rivals directly, he said the toxicity, along with other social media antics, reflected a disturbing erosion of respect for public office and civil discourse.

Previous presidents, including Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, have publicly speculated about the possibility of alien life, while Donald Trump expressed scepticism but acknowledged that “anything is possible.” Mr Obama’s remarks, however, are the most unequivocal confirmation of belief from a former US leader, combining a fascination with the cosmos with a clear-eyed dismissal of the conspiracies surrounding Area 51.

In doing so, he has struck a balance between embracing the mystery of extraterrestrial life and confronting the misinformation and political theatre that often obscure public understanding of the issue. For those hoping for confirmation of hidden alien experiments at Area 51, Mr Obama’s answer is unambiguous: the truth about extraterrestrials exists, but it is not buried in Nevada.