Obama Clarifies Stance on Extraterrestrial Life After Viral Interview with Brian Tyler Cohen
Former US President Barack Obama recently addressed a wave of speculation regarding his views on extraterrestrial life, prompted by comments made during an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen. The interview quickly gained traction, leading Obama to issue a clarifying statement.
The Viral Moment
The discussion unfolded during a “lightning round” segment of the interview, where Cohen posed a series of rapid-fire questions. When asked, “Are aliens real?” Obama responded, “They’re real but I haven’t seen them,” adding, “And they’re not being kept in… what is it? Area 51.” He playfully dismissed the idea of a secret underground facility, stating there was no evidence of such a conspiracy hidden from the President.
He further fueled the conversation when asked about the first question he wanted answered upon becoming president, replying with a laugh, “Where are the aliens?”
Clarification and Context
Obama’s remarks quickly spread across international media and social platforms. Recognizing the attention, he took to Instagram to provide further context. He shared a clip of the original exchange accompanied by a statement acknowledging the vastness of the universe and the statistical probability of life existing elsewhere.
“Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,” Obama wrote. “But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
Previous Comments and Public Interest
This isn’t the first time Obama has addressed the topic of unidentified aerial phenomena. During an appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” he acknowledged the existence of footage and records of unexplained objects in the sky, stating, “We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory… They did not have an easily explainable pattern.” He emphasized the ongoing efforts to investigate these occurrences.
Area 51 and Conspiracy Theories
The conversation inevitably touched upon Area 51, the highly classified US Air Force facility in Nevada, a focal point for numerous UFO conspiracy theories. The most famous involves the alleged 1947 Roswell crash, with claims that recovered debris from a flying saucer was taken to Area 51 for reverse engineering.
Public interest in government transparency regarding UFOs remains high. A 2019 YouGov poll revealed that 54% of US adults believe the government possesses more information about UFOs than it discloses.
The Interviewer: Brian Tyler Cohen
The interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, a prominent voice in progressive politics, covered a wide range of serious issues, including concerns about the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The lighthearted “lightning round” at the end provided a surprising and viral moment, sparking a global conversation about the possibility of life beyond Earth.
Source: CNN
