Donald Trump has pledged to release classified government files on alien and extraterrestrial life, sparking widespread excitement and a surge in online conspiracy theories, most prominently the decades-old 'Project Blue Beam' theory, which alleges a government plot to stage a fake alien encounter.
The president issued the directive on 19 February 2026 via Truth Social, ordering the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to begin releasing files on unidentified aerial phenomena. On 17 April 2026, speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona, he told the crowd that 'very interesting documents' had already been found and that 'first releases will begin very, very soon.'
