Donald Trump mumbled his way through a response to a softball question on UFOs and extraterrestrial life in an interview with Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos in a clip released on Saturday. Trump told Stephanopoulos that he had attended a “very brief meeting” on the matter, but that he is not in fact all that much of a believer.
UFOs have been in the news quite a bit lately due to recent media reports detailing several accounts of sightings by military personnel, releases of footage allegedly showing U.S. military pilots encountering unidentified aircraft, and news that the Pentagon spent tens of millions on an obscure UFO research project called the “Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.” The issue has gained enough steam that the U.S. Navy recently acknowledged a “number of reports of unauthorised and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years.” The Navy said it would be implementing new reporting procedures, though it was cautious to avoid legitmising the view that UFOs are indeed extraterrestrial craft.
“Yeah, I have, I have,” Trump told the host. “I think it’s probably, uh… I want them to think whatever they think. They do say, I mean, I’ve seen, and I’ve read, and I’ve heard, and I did have one very brief meeting on it, but people are saying they’re seeing UFOs.”
“Do I believe it? Not particularly,” he added.
Stephanopoulos followed up with a question about whether Trump would know if there was evidence of alien life.
“Well I think my, our great pilots would know, and some of them really see things that are a little bit different than in the past,” Trump responded. “So we’re gonna see. But we’ll watch it and you’re gonna be the first to know.”
So there you have it, folks. The guy who definitely pays attention during briefings and would never, ever lie or misrepresent things to the public claims to know jack shit about UFOs, so that should settle it! On the other hand, in the very unlikely event that UFOs ever turn out to be visitors from another world and not just advanced foreign aircraft, software glitches, or stuff some guy on YouTube made up, it’s in everyone’s interests to make sure Trump finds out last.
[YouTube]