Former President Barack Obama moved to dial back a wave of online speculation this week after a lighthearted podcast exchange was widely interpreted as a confirmation of extraterrestrial visitation. In a brief Instagram statement, Obama said he had seen no evidence during his presidency that aliens have made contact with Earth, clarifying remarks he made during a rapid‑fire question segment on a political podcast.

Obama had jokingly replied “They’re real” when asked whether aliens exist during an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen. He followed the quip by noting he had never seen aliens and that they were not being kept at the U.S. government’s classified Nevada testing facility known as Area 51. His fuller clarification, issued Sunday, emphasized that while the universe is vast enough to make extraterrestrial life statistically plausible, the distances involved make visitation unlikely. Obama added that he saw no evidence as president suggesting extraterrestrials have contacted humanity, a point consistent with previous public statements from federal agencies.

The site at the center of many UFO conspiracy theories, Area 51, was formally acknowledged by the CIA in 2013 after decades of secrecy. According to declassified documents, the base was developed during the Cold War for testing high‑altitude reconnaissance aircraft including the U‑2 program and, later, stealth technologies. Its classified nature, combined with decades of restricted public access, has fueled speculation ranging from suspected crash recoveries to claims of hidden extraterrestrial life. Reporting on Obama’s recent comments was first published by MyNorthwest.

For many in southwest Washington, UFO stories carry a uniquely local resonance. The Pacific Northwest has long ranked among the country’s highest‑reporting regions for unidentified aerial phenomena, with Washington State frequently appearing in national UFO sighting databases. While most reports turn out to have terrestrial explanations, occasional unusual sightings over rural areas of Cowlitz County — often attributed to military aircraft, commercial traffic, or atmospheric conditions — keep interest in the subject alive.

Federal agencies have in recent years released new information, including footage and summaries of unexplained aerial encounters involving U.S. military pilots. Those releases have sparked new rounds of public discussion about what constitutes credible evidence. Obama’s comments this week add a rare presidential perspective to that debate, reinforcing that — at least from his vantage point in office — extraordinary claims remain unsupported by official records.

As of February 16, 2026, no federal agency has released evidence indicating extraterrestrial contact. Agencies continue to study unidentified aerial phenomena primarily as aviation‑safety and national‑security issues, not as evidence of non‑human visitation.

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