The official transcript of Reagan's 1987 UN address. The ‘alien threat’ line sits in a passage about war and the threat of war.
“I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us?” source
OFFICIALWilliam J. Clinton (The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara) · 1995-11-30
Requested by Rep. Steven Schiff. Found two 1947 records, a base history and an FBI teletype, both describing a balloon, and that Roswell AAF outgoing messages from October 1946 to December 1949 were destroyed.
“RAAF outgoing messages from October 1946 through December 1949 were destroyed.” source
OFFICIALKerri Lawrence, National Archives News · 2018-02-09
National Archives overview of its UFO holdings. Shows Carter's 1973 UFO report and a NICAP report on it, both held by the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta.
The article calls Carter ‘then-Governor’ in 1969; his 1973 report was filed as governor.
OFFICIALOffice of the Director of National Intelligence · 2021-06-25
Reviewed 144 reports from US government sources, 2004–2021. Identified one with high confidence as a large, deflating balloon; the others remain unexplained. Limited data prevents firm conclusions.
“We were able to identify one reported UAP with high confidence. In that case, we identified the object as a large, deflating balloon.” source
The original dni.gov address now redirects; this is the ODNI archive copy.
CLASSIFIEDDeclassifiedFILE NO. 005SHEET 2 OF 3
Press
Newspaper and magazine coverage, then and now. Linked, never copied.
Carter filed a report with the International UFO Bureau on 18 September 1973 about an object seen in 1969 at Leary, Georgia; promised in 1976 to release UFO information, then backed away citing defence implications.
“During the presidential campaign of 1976, Carter promised that, if elected president, he would encourage the government release “every piece of information” about UFOs available to the public and to scientists.” source
On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Clinton said he had all the Roswell papers reviewed, would not be surprised by a visit someday, and would tell the public if he found aliens.
“If we were visited someday I wouldn't be surprised” source
John Podesta, leaving his post as White House counsellor, listed not securing disclosure of the UFO files as his biggest failure of 2014. Also recalls his 2002 call to open government UFO investigations.
“Finally, my biggest failure of 2014: Once again not securing the #disclosure of the UFO files. #thetruthisstilloutthere” source
In a Father's Day interview with Donald Trump Jr. hosted by his campaign, Trump declined to say what he knew about Roswell and said he would have to think about declassifying.
“I won't talk to you about what I know about it, but it's very interesting.” source
Trump posts that he will direct agencies to identify and release government files on alien life, UAP and UFOs. Context: Obama's podcast remark that aliens are ‘real’, and his clarification that he saw no evidence in office.
PRESSAl Jazeera Staff and The Associated Press · 2026-05-08
The Pentagon publishes 162 previously classified files, including FBI, State Department and NASA documents. It draws no conclusions and says many files have not yet been analysed.
CLASSIFIEDDeclassifiedFILE NO. 005SHEET 3 OF 3
Analysis
Our own reading of the file, written from the sources on the other sheets. Opinion is marked as such.
Presidents get asked about UFOs because the question is fun and the answer sounds like inside knowledge. Read the transcripts and most answers are jokes, figures of speech or polite deflections. Reagan's ‘alien threat’ is a rhetorical turn: in the next sentence the alien force is war. Clinton's Belfast line was an answer to a child's letter, and the punchline was that they didn't tell me about it, either. On Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2014 he said he had all the Roswell papers reviewed and would not be surprised by a visit someday.
The serious items are fewer. Carter filed a real report form in 1973 about a light he saw, and as a candidate promised to open the files; once in office he backed away, citing defence implications. A sceptic has argued the light matches the position of Venus that evening. John Podesta, leaving his post as Obama's White House counsellor, called not securing disclosure of the UFO files his biggest failure of 2014. Obama's 2021 remark matched what the intelligence community published a month later: most military reports remained unexplained.
Our label is Confirmed because the words are on record, not because they prove anything. A president who says ‘very interesting’ about Roswell has told you his mood, not the contents of a file. What actually happened is in the second column: a records search, an intelligence assessment, a file release that drew no conclusions.
What it shows
That the words were said: Reagan's and Clinton's in official transcripts, the rest in contemporaneous reporting with the date and setting.
That a future president filed a UFO sighting report: Carter's 1973 form is held by the Carter Library.
That in 2021 the intelligence community said officially that it could explain only one of 144 military UAP reports.
What it doesn't prove
That any president knew of alien craft: Clinton said he was not told, and Obama said in 2026 he had seen no evidence while in office.
That ‘unexplained’ means ‘alien’: ODNI's own categories are clutter, natural phenomena, US programmes, foreign systems and ‘other’.
That Carter saw a craft: a sceptic's analysis matches his description to the planet Venus, and the date on his own form is disputed.
The other side
A stricter reader would say only two of these quotes are confirmed in the full sense: Reagan's UN address and Clinton's Belfast remarks are in official transcripts. The others reach us through press reports of talk shows and interviews, often in a joking register, and some were later qualified: in 2026 Obama clarified that he meant the odds of life elsewhere are good and that he saw no evidence in office. ‘On the record’ is doing a lot of work for a late-night aside.
Reported a bright, colour-changing object seen in 1969 at Leary, Georgia, filing a report in 1973; in the 1976 campaign promised to release “every piece of information” on UFOs. [history-carter]
After winning, he backed away from the pledge, saying some information might have “defense implications”. [history-carter]
Ronald Reagan
“I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.” UN General Assembly, 21 September 1987. [reagan-1987]
A figure of speech. His next sentence asks whether an alien force is not already among us, and names it: war and the threat of war. [reagan-1987]
Bill Clinton
“No, as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.” Belfast, 30 November 1995. [clinton-belfast-1995]
In July 1995 Congress's auditors (GAO) reported that the two surviving 1947 records describe a balloon, and that the base's outgoing messages for 1946–49 had been destroyed. [gao-1995]
Barack Obama
There is “footage and records of objects in the skies that we don't know exactly what they are”. The Late Late Show, May 2021. [nbc-obama-2021]
In June 2021 ODNI reviewed 144 government reports: one identified as a large, deflating balloon, the others unexplained, with too little data for firm conclusions. [odni-2021]
Donald Trump
On Roswell: “I won't talk to you about what I know about it, but it's very interesting.” June 2020. [nbc-trump-2020]
In May 2026 the Pentagon released a first tranche of 162 files from several agencies. It drew no conclusions and the release brought no clear revelations. [aljazeera-2026]
Open questions
The month of Carter's sighting: his form says October 1969; a sceptic citing Lions Club records puts the meeting on 6 January 1969.
Whether the 2026 releases contain anything that changes the 2021 picture: the Pentagon said many files had not yet been analysed.
Other analyses
COMMENTARYRobert Sheaffer (debunker.com) · DATE TO VERIFY
A sceptic's compilation, built on Sheaffer's 1977 article in The Humanist: Lions Club records put the Leary meeting on 6 January 1969, and the object's position matches the planet Venus. Includes a transcription of Carter's form.
“This almost perfectly matches the known position of Venus, which was in the west-southwest at an altitude of 25 degrees.” source
Sceptic's site, not a neutral source. Undated compilation; the core article appeared in The Humanist, July–August 1977.
TO VERIFY Candidates, not yet checked
Official Department of War release of 8 May 2026 (defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4480582/) and the war.gov/ufo portal: both returned 403 to our checks.
CNN reports on Obama (19 May 2021) and Trump's directive (19 February 2026): HTTP 451 to our checks.
A primary 1976 source for Carter's campaign promise to release UFO information; only a secondary account verified.
The Carter Library's own catalogue entry for Carter's 1973 UFO report.
The air date of Obama's Brian Tyler Cohen podcast interview (early 2026).
Found, but not linked to a source we trust. Not on the sheets until they are.
