President’s comments sparks renewed interest into the extraterrestrial in Colorado
Bradley Davis
SOUTHERN COLORADO, Colo. (KRDO) – Unknown, at the time, to former President Barack Obama, his three words on a podcast earlier this week sparked a viral interest that made it all the way to President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One. In an unexpected domino effect, Trump now says he is working to get the government files on UFO’s declassified.
On a podcast with host Brian Cohen, Cohen asked Obama if aliens are real. Casually, Obama replied, “Aliens are real.”
In the same breath, he qualified his statement by saying there were no aliens at Area 51, and he had never seen an alien. After the moment went viral, he clarified on Instagram that he personally believed aliens were probably real, but he did not see any proof while president.
The story really heated up when Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy asked Trump about Obama’s comments on board Air Force One.
“He gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake,” Trump said. “I may get him out of trouble by declassifying them.”
“So, aliens are real?” Doocy said.
“I don’t know if they’re real or not,” Trump said.
Trump said later in a Truth Social post that he would direct “relevant department agencies” to begin “identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life.”
This isn’t the first time the federal government has hinted at the existence of aliens. In 2021, KRDO13 brought you an investigative report after the Air Force released footage of pilot encounters with UFOs.
Colorado has the 13th most UFO sightings in the country, despite only having the 20th greatest population, according to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC). The site is operated by a private non-profit. Its sightings map unsurprisingly resembles the U.S. population density map. Colorado’s disparity between UFO sightings and population density suggests a higher sightings-per-capita than the average state.
The alien culture has also grown deep roots in Southern Colorado. One ranch in a tiny town outside of Alamosa has become a must-stop for alien-enthusiasts on their Rocky Mountain road trips.
The “Alien Watchtower” in Hooper, Colorado, has welcomed guests for over 20 years to camp and watch the sky for UFOs. The tower is nestled within the San Luis Valley, which is famous for stargazing. Owner and Cattle Farmer Judy Messoline said it’s a safe space for believers where they can search for clues without being made fun of.
Starlinks have added a whole new challenge to UFO viewing. KRDO13’s staff have received multiple emails and text messages over the last two years with pictures of freaky-looking, blinking, segmented lines in the sky, asking us to investigate if it’s one of those Air Force UFOs. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what a starlink looks like. If you’ve never seen one before, it certainly looks extraterrestrial.
NUFORC lists 115 civilian-reported UFO sightings in Colorado over the last 12 months. Surprisingly, that number is slightly lower than reported during our report in 2021, despite the Starlink confusion.