Former US President Barack Obama has issued a public statement in order to clarify that he has not seen any evidence of aliens, after causing a frenzy by saying they were real in an interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen on Saturday.
After the media frenzy, Obama released a statement on Instagram on Sunday evening, declaring that he was just trying to "stick to the spirit of the speed round."
He added, "But since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.”
On the podcast, Obama was asked, “Are aliens real?” The former president replied, “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.”
He continued, “They’re not being kept in Area 51 - unless there’s an enormous conspiracy that hid it from the president.”
“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. Really!” said the former US president.
According to The Guardian, there has been a long-running conspiracy theory claiming that the US government would have been hiding extraterrestrials at Area 51, a highly classified Air Force site in Nevada.
Besides the alien discussion, Obama said that the current state of US political discourse feels like a “clown show.”
“Most Americans find this behavior deeply troubling,” Obama said. “Some public figures no longer seem to feel shame. But the majority don’t approve, and ultimately the answer will come from them.”
While he didn't mention current US President Donald Trump by name, Obama’s comment appeared to reference a video shared by Trump containing an AI-generated clip of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
Obama said Democrats have a harder job than Republicans
The former US president also stated that, in his opinion, Democrats have a harder job than Republicans, as, according to him, one group focuses on protecting norms while the other pursues its goals aggressively.
“We believe in government as a force for good, which means building majorities, persuading people, passing laws,” he said. “Tearing things down is easier.“
The former president said that he was able to get younger people to vote by building a sense of joy and community into his presidential campaign.
“The other side thrives on anger and division. Our strength is community. That spirit of shared purpose - that’s our home court,” he said.
Shir Perets contributed to this report.