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Obama clarifies stance on extraterrestrial visits
Former U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the probability of Earth being visited by aliens is minimal, following a surge of interest in his recent remarks about extraterrestrial life.
Podcast comments spark online debate
During an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen, released on Saturday, Obama responded to a rapid-fire question about the existence of aliens by saying, "They're real but I haven't seen them."
He dismissed theories about secret government facilities, adding, "They're not being kept in Area 51. There's no underground facility-unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States."
Statistical likelihood vs. evidence
Obama later clarified his remarks, emphasizing that while the vastness of the universe makes extraterrestrial life statistically probable, he found no proof of alien contact during his presidency.
"Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there," he wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. "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."
Previous remarks on UFOs
This is not the first time Obama has addressed the topic. In a 2021 appearance on *The Late Late Show with James Corden*, he recounted asking about classified programs upon taking office.
"I asked, 'Is there a lab where we're keeping the alien specimens and spaceship?' They did a little bit of research and the answer was no."
Barack Obama, 2021
However, he acknowledged that some military footage of unexplained aerial phenomena remained unresolved at the time.
Context of the initial remarks
Obama explained that his original comments were made in the context of a "speed round" of questions, where brevity was prioritized. The attention his answer received prompted him to elaborate further.
