PoliticsStephen Colbert Calls Out Barack Obama for Viral Aliens 'Are Real' Comments as Ex-President Denies Government Is 'Keeping Secrets'
The 44th POTUS insisted any evidence of alien life 'would leak.'
May 6 2026, Published 2:23 p.m. ET
Barack Obama is shutting down conspiracy theories that the government is hiding proof of alien life.
The former president sent the internet spiraling in February when he suggested during a podcast appearance that aliens exist, saying, "They're real, but I haven't seen them."
Obama, 64, later clarified his comments in an Instagram post, writing that while it's possible "life is out there," he "saw no evidence during [his] presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us."
Barack Obama said earlier this year he believes aliens are 'real.'
'You Know No One Believed You, Right?'
The former commander-in-chief claimed he was not implying aliens are in government possession.
In an appearance on the Tuesday, May 5, episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert called him out, quipping, "You tried to walk it back the next day. You know no one believed you, right?"
"I thought it was so obvious what I meant," the 44th POTUS replied, proceeding to squash the idea that the existence of aliens is being kept under wraps.
“Here’s the thing. For those of you who still think that we’ve got little green men underground somewhere, one of the things you learn as president is [that the] government is terrible at keeping secrets,” he said.
'It Would Leak'
Barack Obama told Stephen Colbert he would know if the government was hiding extraterrestrials.
Obama continued, “If there were aliens, or alien spaceships, or anything under the control of the U.S. government that we knew about, [had] seen, photographs … I promise you some guy guarding the installation would have taken a selfie with one of the aliens and sent it to his girlfriend to impress them. It would leak.”
When Colbert, 61, asked if he hopes aliens are real, the politician responded, "I actually do."
“I’m putting in a plug now: First contact, I think I would be a good emissary for the planet," he joked. "I have the diverse background, some experience in statecraft and diplomacy … I’m friendly. I actually think I could do a pretty good job.”
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'They're Not Being Kept in Area 51'
'There's no underground facility,' he said in February.
Obama's comments on the topic first made headlines earlier this year during an interview with political podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen.
While he declared extraterrestrials were "real" at the time, he stipulated he's never laid eyes on any, adding, "they’re not being kept in Area 51," a highly classified U.S. Air Force facility known for its extreme secrecy.
"There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States," he insisted.
Barack Obama attempted to clarify his comments in an Instagram post.
'The Chances We've Been Visited by Aliens Is Low'
The politician thinks it's possible 'there's life out there.'
On social media, Obama claimed he "was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round" during the interview, noting he didn't mean to imply the government was concealing anything.
"Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,” he wrote. “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!”
