On February 20, 2026, President Trump announced he was directing the Pentagon and other agencies to release government files on “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).” The announcement came as the Department of Justice continued releasing millions of Jeffrey Epstein documents in which Trump and Melania appear in more than 38,000 references — more than almost any non-associate in the files.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie immediately called it out, writing on X: “They've deployed the ultimate weapon of mass distraction, but the Epstein files aren't going away... even for aliens.” The Daily Beast called it a “desperate distraction.” Seven months earlier, late-night host Seth Meyers had predicted on-air that Trump would try to use UFO disclosures to distract from the Epstein files — a prediction that aged remarkably well.
Trump's alien file directive was notably vague. He did not specify what information the records contain, when they would be released, or whether classified documents would be made public. A 2024 military report had already concluded there is no evidence that any government investigation into UAPs has confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial life. The announcement appeared to be triggered by former President Obama answering questions about alien life on a podcast days earlier, giving Trump a pretext to generate headlines about anything other than Jeffrey Epstein.
The man who spent years demanding the Epstein files be released is now scrambling to change the subject after getting what he asked for.