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Donald Trump

President whose February 2026 directive led to the PURSUE UAP file releases and a July 2026 order waiving NDAs for insiders speaking to authorised officials.

Current role: President of the United States (47th), in his second term; directed the 2026 PURSUE UAP file releases and the NDA waiver for UAP witnesses

Former roles:

  • President of the United States (45th, 2017–2021)

@realDonaldTrump on X

Background

Donald Trump is the 47th President of the United States and previously served as the 45th, from 2017 to 2021. In his first term he spoke about UAP only in passing, telling his son in a June 2020 campaign interview that what he knew about Roswell was "very interesting". In his second term he became the first president to direct a government-wide release of UAP records: a 19 February 2026 Truth Social post led to the Department of War's PURSUE programme (first release 8 May 2026), a UAP Governance Board under ODNI, and a July 2026 direction to waive prior non-disclosure agreements for personnel speaking to authorised government representatives. No executive order, memorandum or Federal Register notice for any of these directions has been published as of October 2026.

On the record

  • 2026-10-15 – Newsmax interview (Rob Finnerty), asked whether he will be the president who discloses – "Well, let me just tell you, it's very interesting. I wasn't much of a believer." … "I do know we see some pretty strange things." … "I'm looking." … "Again, I'm not high on the list of that particular subject." (quotes via Liberation Times' transcription). Clip · Liberation Times
  • 2026-05-08 – Truth Social, on the first PURSUE release – "With these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, 'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?'" and "Have Fun and Enjoy!" war.gov/ufo · Fox live blog
  • 2026-04-29 – White House event for NASA astronauts – "We're going to be releasing a lot of things that we haven't. I think some of it's going to be very interesting to people." and "I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people, you're really into that. I don't know if I am." PBS NewsHour
  • 2026-04-17 – Turning Point USA, Phoenix – "As you remember, I recently directed the Secretary of War ... to begin releasing government files relating to UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomenon." "This process is well underway, and we found many very interesting documents, I must say, and the first releases will begin very, very soon." NBC · The Hill
  • 2026-02-19 – Air Force One, then Truth Social – asked by Peter Doocy whether aliens are real: "Well, I don't know if they're real or not. I can tell you (Obama) gave classified information." Hours later: "Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters." The post contains no declassification language. White House on X · CNN · The Debrief
  • 2025-12-18 – signed the FY2026 NDAA, whose sections 1671–1673 require AARO briefings on NORAD/NORTHCOM intercepts back to 2004, immediate UAP data-sharing with AARO, and an accounting of classification guides. The UAP Disclosure Act was not included. White House statement · Public Law 119-60
  • 2025-08-05 – interview – asked about the aerial incursions over New Jersey, said he could not disclose their origin. Clip
  • 2020-06-18 – campaign interview with Donald Trump Jr. – on Roswell: "I won't talk to you about what I know about it, but it's very interesting." Asked whether he might declassify it: "Well, I'll have to think about that one." NBC · NBC News NOW clip

Reported claims (secondary / anonymous-sourced)

  • 2026-09-26 – Liberation Times – journalist Ross Coulthart claimed, citing unnamed sources, that Trump authorised the Department of War to engage or shoot down unidentified objects near White Sands and the US–Mexico border. The White House did not respond to Liberation Times by its deadline. Liberation Times
  • 2026-07-21 – presidential direction to waive prior NDAs for UAP witnesses, first reported by Fox News and Just the News, confirmed by Rep. Eric Burlison on 29 July and by an ODNI memo of 31 July that cites "Presidential Direction". The text and form of the direction itself have not been released. Burlison statement · ODNI memo PDF
  • 2025-12-09 – David Grusch told Fox News that Trump has been "fully briefed" on UAP: "the current president is very knowledgeable on this subject." No White House response was found. NewsNation
  • 2022-09 – New York Times, as summarised by Business Insider – reported that during his first term "Mr. Trump did not care about intelligence reports about U.F.O.s, but he would ask questions about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy". Business Insider

Responses and criticism

  • 2026-02-20 – The Debrief noted that the 19 February post orders "release", not declassification, and that nothing was declassified by the post itself. Christopher Mellon: "This might be a consequential moment, but the impact will depend on the follow-through." Tim Gallaudet: "I'll believe it when I see it." The Debrief · DefenseScoop
  • 2026-05-14 – after the first PURSUE release, Mellon: "Data alone is not disclosure." Gallaudet noted no metadata was included. Ryan Graves called for provenance, sensor context and metadata. DefenseScoop
  • 2026-09-14 – The Black Vault pointed out that section 1673 of the FY2023 NDAA already let AARO receive UAP information notwithstanding any NDA, and that the Pentagon declined to release the underlying directive for the new DoW waiver. Black Vault

Timeline of involvement

  • 2020-06-18 – Roswell remarks in a campaign interview
  • 2025-01-20 – inaugurated for a second term
  • 2025-01-23 – orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK files; Sen. Schumer urges the same for UFO files (NewsNation)
  • 2025-12-18 – signs the FY2026 NDAA with three UAP provisions
  • 2026-02-19 – Truth Social directive to identify and release UAP files
  • 2026-05-08 – PURSUE launches at war.gov/ufo; further releases through 18 September 2026
  • 2026-07-21 – directs DoW and the IC to waive prior NDAs for UAP witnesses (text unpublished)
  • 2026-09-14 – Department of War issues a legal waiver for UAP disclosures to PURSUE representatives (DefenseScoop)

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-11-02. Spotted an error? Reach out.