Donald Trump & UAPs: Policies, Statements & The Space Connection

This article is part of an ongoing series created in collaboration with the UAP News Center, a leading website for the most up-to-date UAP news and information. Visit UAP News Center for the full collection of infographics.

Key Takeaways

• Trump signed legislation mandating UAP reports and oversaw the 2025 Archive release.
• The 2025 “Mystery Drone” incident sparked a new debate on domestic airspace security.
• Key appointments in Trump’s second term suggest a shift toward aggressive oversight.

Catalyzed Fundamental Change

The intersection of presidential politics and the investigation into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) represents a significant shift in American governance. For decades, the topic remained on the fringes of serious political discourse, often relegated to tabloids or science fiction. However, the tenure of Donald Trump – spanning his first term, his 2024 reelection, and his current administration as the 47th President – has catalyzed a fundamental change in how the United States government processes, categorizes, and publicly discusses unidentified aerial objects. This transition moved the subject from the realm of conspiracy theory into the halls of Congress and the Pentagon . The narrative involves a complex interplay between executive curiosity, legislative mandates, and an entrenched national security apparatus.

The dialogue surrounding UAPs during the Trump era was not linear. It began with public skepticism in 2017 but evolved through specific legislative actions that forced the intelligence community to produce unclassified assessments. This evolution was driven by a combination of media pressure, bipartisan congressional interest, and the testimony of military pilots who encountered objects performing maneuvers that defied conventional aerodynamics. The result is a current political landscape in 2025 where the transparency of the government regarding potential non-human intelligence is a legitimate policy question.

The Early Stance: Skepticism and Curiosity (2017–2021)

When Donald Trump first assumed office in 2017, the official stance of the federal government regarding UFOs had remained largely unchanged since the closure of Project Blue Book in 1969. The prevailing attitude was one of dismissal. However, internally, the Department of Defense had been operating the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a fact that became public knowledge in December 2017 via reports in major newspapers. This revelation occurred nearly a year into the Trump presidency, placing the Commander-in-Chief in a unique position regarding classified aerospace threats.

President Trump’s initial public comments reflected standard conservative skepticism. In interviews between 2017 and 2019, he frequently downplayed the significance of the reports. When asked about Navy pilots who reported seeing objects moving at hypersonic speeds without visible propulsion, Trump stated he had “a very brief meeting on it” but remained unconvinced. His famous quote, “I’m not a believer, but I have met with people that are serious people that say there’s some really strange things,” encapsulates this period. It highlights a dichotomy: a personal lack of belief in extraterrestrial visitation contrasted with a willingness to listen to military personnel who claimed otherwise.

This period was characterized by a disconnect between the growing data from military sensors and the public messaging from the White House. While pilots from the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike groups were reporting daily incursions by unknown craft, the executive branch maintained a distance. This distance allowed the legislative branch to take the lead. Senators and Representatives, briefed on the same data, began crafting the legal framework that would eventually compel the executive branch to act.

The Shift to Openness

By 2020, the tone emanating from the Oval Office began to shift. The dismissal seen in early interviews gave way to a more intrigued and open-ended rhetoric. This change coincided with the release of three Navy videos – “FLIR1,” “Gimbal,” and “GoFast” – which the Department of Defense officially declassified and released in April 2020. These videos showed UAPs tracked by infrared targeting pods, providing visual evidence to support the pilot testimonies.

In a June 2020 interview, Donald Trump made comments regarding the Roswell incident that garnered significant attention. When pressed on whether he would declassify information about the crash, he teased that he knew “very interesting” things about it. While seemingly playful, his assertion that “I’ll think about it” regarding declassification marked a departure from the flat denials of previous administrations. It signaled to the public and the intelligence community that the President did not view the topic as entirely off-limits.

This rhetorical shift provided political cover for members of Congress to pursue the topic more aggressively. If the President was willing to discuss it openly, the stigma for legislators was reduced. This environment facilitated the inclusion of UAP-related language in major spending bills. The focus moved from “do these things exist?” to “who controls the information about them?”

Legislative Milestones and the 2020 Mandate

The most tangible legacy of Trump’s first term regarding UAPs is found in the legislation signed into law during his final year in office. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which President Trump signed in December 2020, included a directive that altered the course of UAP history.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, led by Senator Marco Rubio , included a comment in the committee report accompanying the bill. This directive required the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to submit a detailed report on “unidentified aerial phenomena” within 180 days. This was not a request; it was a mandate. It legally obligated the intelligence agencies to collate data from the Office of Naval Intelligence , the FBI, and the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF).

This legislation achieved several specific outcomes:

• It standardized the reporting process across different branches of the military.
• It forced the intelligence community to analyze the data rather than ignore it.
• It set a deadline for a public, unclassified report.

The significance of this legislation is that it institutionalized the study of UAPs. Prior to this, investigations were ad hoc or hidden within special access programs. The 2020 bill created a permanent bureaucratic requirement for accountability.

The 2021 Preliminary Assessment

The direct result of the Trump-signed legislation was the Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in June 2021. This document represented the first time the US government officially acknowledged the reality of these objects in a formal public report.

The report analyzed 144 reports of UAPs originating from US government sources between 2004 and 2021. Of these 144 cases, the ODNI could explain only one. The remaining 143 cases remained unexplained. The report explicitly stated that UAPs “clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security.”

Crucially, the assessment established five potential categories for UAPs:

• Airborne Clutter (birds, balloons, debris).
• Natural Atmospheric Phenomena (ice crystals, thermal fluctuations).
• US Government or Industry Developmental Programs.
• Foreign Adversary Systems (technologies from China or Russia).
• “Other.”

The “Other” category is where the scientific and public interest lies. This category includes objects that demonstrated advanced physics, such as abrupt acceleration, the ability to remain stationary in high winds, and movement without discernible means of propulsion.

Scientific Context: Radar and Observability

To understand why these reports are significant, it is helpful to consider the physics involved in detection. Military sensors rely on radar cross-sections (RCS) to identify targets. The ability of modern radar to detect an object depends on various factors, including the transmitted power and the size of the target.

Many UAP reports describe objects with no control surfaces (wings, tails) and no exhaust plumes, yet they appear clearly on radar systems like the AN/SPY-1. If an object has a small physical size but is tracked at long ranges, it implies either a significant RCS or highly advanced sensor capabilities. The 2021 report confirmed that in many cases, UAPs were registered across multiple sensors – radar, infrared, and visual – simultaneously.

The Second Term (2025–Present): A New Era of Oversight

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in January 2025 marked a new phase in UAP policy. Unlike his first term, which focused on initial curiosity, his second term began amidst an established legislative framework and a public expecting answers. The administration’s approach has been characterized by the appointment of personnel with a history of challenging the intelligence establishment and a direct confrontation with the “mystery drone” phenomenon.

The “Mystery Drones” of 2025

One of the first national security challenges of the new administration involved the widespread sightings of unidentified drones over New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in late 2024 and early 2025. Thousands of witnesses reported large, fixed-wing drones operating at night near critical infrastructure, including military bases like Picatinny Arsenal.

The initial public reaction was one of confusion and alarm. However, in late January 2025, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement directly from President Trump. The administration clarified that the drones were “authorized by the FAA for research and various other reasons.” This statement was intended to quell panic but raised new questions about domestic surveillance and the nature of the “research” being conducted. President Trump added to the intrigue during a press availability, stating that while the government knew the origin of the craft, he preferred to “keep people in suspense” regarding the specifics. This incident highlighted the fine line the new administration walks between transparency and operational security.

Key Personnel and Institutional Shifts

The personnel choices for the second Trump administration signal a potential shift in how UAP data is handled.

• Marco Rubio (Secretary of State): As the former Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Rubio was the primary architect of the UAP legislation passed between 2020 and 2023. His elevation to Secretary of State places a staunch advocate for transparency at the highest level of diplomatic power. Rubio has historically argued that if UAPs are foreign technology, it is an intelligence failure, and if they are not, it is a scientific imperative to understand them.
• Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence): Confirmed in February 2025, Tulsi Gabbard oversees the entire intelligence community, including the ODNI which produces UAP reports. Gabbard has a history of criticizing the “security state” and has expressed openness to investigating anomalous phenomena without preconceived biases. Her leadership suggests that the intelligence community may face increased pressure to release data that was previously withheld.
• Jon T. Kosloski (Director of AARO): Appointed in late 2024, Dr. Jon Kosloski continues to lead the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. His retention suggests a desire for continuity in the scientific analysis of UAP cases, balancing the political push for disclosure with rigorous technical investigation.

The 2025 Archive Release

In April 2025, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released a significant tranche of UAP-related records. This release was mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, signed during the previous administration but implemented under Trump’s watch. The collection includes previously classified documents from various defense agencies, centralized for the first time. While the release did not contain a “smoking gun” regarding extraterrestrial life, it provided historians and researchers with thousands of pages of context regarding how the government has tracked and analyzed these incidents over decades.

The Whistleblowers: Grusch and Elizondo

The narrative of the Trump era is incomplete without the whistleblowers who drove the conversation forward. Two figures, Luis Elizondo and David Grusch , remain central.

Luis Elizondo, the former director of AATIP, resigned in 2017 to protest the excessive secrecy surrounding the topic. His advocacy was instrumental in the release of the Navy videos and the initial legislative interest. In 2025, Elizondo continues to be a vocal critic of the Pentagon’s slow pace of disclosure, often citing the “mystery drone” incidents as proof that the U.S. airspace is vulnerable.

David Grusch, a former intelligence officer, shocked the world in 2023 with allegations of a “crash retrieval and reverse engineering program.” Grusch testified under oath that the U.S. government possesses “non-human biologics” and intact craft. While the Pentagon’s AARO has denied these claims, stating they found no empirical evidence of such programs, Grusch’s testimony remains the catalyst for the renewed legislative push in the 119th Congress.

The Legislative Battle Continues (2025–2026)

Despite the 2024 NDAA’s success in creating an archive, the fight for a broader “UAP Disclosure Act” has been renewed in the 119th Congress. In July 2025, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer submitted S. Amdt. 3111 to S. 2296, an amendment that seeks to restore provisions stripped from previous bills.

The proposed 2025 amendment includes:

• Eminent Domain: Exercising government ownership over any “technologies of unknown origin” currently held by private aerospace contractors.
• Independent Review Board: Creating a civilian-led board with the power to declassify UAP records, bypassing the standard Pentagon review process.
• Definitions: Legally defining “non-human intelligence” to prevent ambiguity in reporting.

The re-introduction of this legislation during Trump’s second term places the President in a pivotal position. Will he support the independent review board as a way to “drain the swamp” of intelligence secrecy, or will he side with the defense establishment’s concerns over national security?

National Security vs. Public Right to Know

The core debate remains the balance between national security and public transparency. The argument for secrecy relies on the protection of sources and methods. If the US military admits it detected a UAP at a specific location and speed, it implicitly reveals the capabilities of its radar and sensor systems to adversaries like China or Russia . Additionally, if the US possesses recovered technology, acknowledging it could spark a global arms race.

Conversely, the argument for transparency rests on democratic principles and flight safety. If UAPs represent a technology that defies current physics, the scientific community argues that this knowledge belongs to humanity, not a small group of defense contractors. Moreover, as the 2025 drone sightings demonstrated, unidentified objects in domestic airspace cause public fear and confusion. A lack of transparency fuels conspiracy theories and erodes trust in government institutions.

Sociological Implications: Ontological Shock

The term “ontological shock” refers to the collapse of a person’s worldview when confronted with a reality that contradicts their fundamental beliefs. The slow-drip disclosure strategy employed by the government – moving from “they don’t exist” to “they are real but we don’t know what they are” – appears designed to mitigate this shock.

The Trump administration’s approach, whether by design or accident, has facilitated this gradual acclimatization. By normalizing the discussion through legislative mandates and authorized “research” explanations for drone swarms, the topic has moved from the fringe to the mainstream. This normalization is essential for preparing the public for any potential future announcements regarding non-human intelligence.

Summary

The period from 2017 to the present marks a distinct era in the history of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Donald Trump entered the presidency during a time of official denial and, through his two terms, has overseen the dismantling of that secrecy. His initial curiosity in 2020 paved the way for the legislative mandates that forced the intelligence community to speak. Now, in 2025, his administration faces the practical reality of that disclosure: managing public reaction to mass sightings, overseeing the release of historical archives, and navigating the complex politics of a potential retrieval program. With key allies like Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard in power, the machinery of government is more engaged with the mystery than ever before.

Appendix: Top 10 Questions Answered in This Article

How did Donald Trump’s stance on UAPs change during his presidency?

Donald Trump initially expressed skepticism in 2017 but shifted to curiosity by 2020, teasing knowledge of Roswell. In his second term (2025), his administration has taken a more active role, addressing mass drone sightings and overseeing the release of historical archives.

What was the “Mystery Drone” incident of 2025?

In late 2024 and early 2025, large drones were sighted over New Jersey and the Northeast. The Trump administration confirmed in January 2025 that these were FAA-authorized for research, though President Trump noted he wanted to “keep people in suspense” regarding the details.

What specific legislation did Trump sign regarding UAPs?

In December 2020, Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which mandated the first ODNI report on UAPs. This legislation legally compelled the intelligence community to analyze and report on unidentified phenomena.

What is the significance of the April 2025 Archive release?

Mandated by the previous year’s NDAA, the National Archives released a centralized collection of UAP records in April 2025. This provided researchers with thousands of previously classified documents, offering historical context to the government’s involvement with the phenomenon.

Who is Tulsi Gabbard and why is her role important?

Confirmed as Director of National Intelligence in February 2025, Tulsi Gabbard oversees the entire intelligence community. Her history of challenging the security establishment suggests she may push for greater transparency in UAP reporting during Trump’s second term.

What does the whistleblower David Grusch allege?

David Grusch alleges that the US government has operated a secret crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program for decades. He testified that “non-human biologics” were recovered alongside the craft, a claim the Pentagon denies.

What is the role of AARO?

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), currently led by Dr. Jon Kosloski, investigates UAP reports for the Department of Defense. It aims to apply rigorous science to sightings, though it has historically found no evidence of extraterrestrial technology.

What is the “UAP Disclosure Act” proposed in 2025?

Re-introduced as S. Amdt. 3111, this legislation seeks to create an independent review board and exercise eminent domain over non-human technologies held by private companies. It represents the ongoing legislative battle for total transparency.

What is “Ontological Shock”?

Ontological shock is the potential psychological impact on the public if the existence of non-human intelligence is confirmed. The government’s gradual disclosure strategy aims to reduce this shock by normalizing the topic over time.

How does radar cross-section (RCS) relate to UAP detection?

RCS determines an object’s detectability by radar. UAPs often display small physical sizes but are tracked at long ranges, implying either advanced stealth capabilities or physical properties that defy conventional radar equations.

Appendix: Top 10 Frequently Searched Questions Answered in This Article

Did Donald Trump release any UFO files?

While his administration declassified three Navy videos in 2020, the major release of files occurred in April 2025 through the National Archives. This release was the result of legislation implemented during his second term.

What are the drones over New Jersey?

The drones sighted over New Jersey in late 2024 and 2025 were confirmed by the Trump administration to be FAA-authorized aircraft conducting research. However, the specific nature of this research remains classified, leading to public speculation.

Who is the current Director of National Intelligence?

Tulsi Gabbard serves as the Director of National Intelligence as of 2025. She was appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate, bringing a reformist perspective to the intelligence community.

Is Marco Rubio involved in UFO disclosure?

Yes, as the current Secretary of State and former Senator, Marco Rubio has been a primary driver of UAP legislation. He helped author the 2020 mandate for a UAP report and continues to advocate for transparency in his cabinet role.

Are UAPs a threat to national security?

Official government reports classify UAPs as a flight safety hazard and a potential national security threat. This is due to their presence in restricted military airspace and their ability to outperform known US technologies.

What did Trump say about Roswell?

In a 2020 interview, Donald Trump said he knew “very interesting” things about the Roswell incident but would not share them at that time. He teased the possibility of declassifying the information, signaling an openness to the topic.

What is the difference between UFO and UAP?

“UFO” stands for Unidentified Flying Object, while “UAP” stands for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. The government adopted “UAP” to destigmatize the study and include objects that transition between air, sea, and space.

Has the government found alien bodies?

Whistleblower David Grusch claims “non-human biologics” were found, but the Pentagon’s AARO office states there is no empirical evidence to support this. The official government stance remains that no extraterrestrial life has been confirmed.

Can the President declassify UAP information?

Yes, the President has broad authority to declassify information. However, this power is often checked by bureaucratic procedures and the need to protect sensitive intelligence sources and methods.

What happens if the 2025 UAP amendment passes?

If S. Amdt. 3111 passes, it would create an independent board to review classified UAP records and potentially force private companies to surrender any recovered non-human technology to the federal government.

KEYWORDS: Donald Trump, UAP legislation, David Grusch, Luis Elizondo, AARO, ODNI report, Mystery Drones New Jersey, Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard, National Archives UAP, S. Amdt. 3111, non-human biologics, Pentagon UFO program, ontological shock, Jon Kosloski, UAP disclosure 2025, radar cross-section, Project Blue Book, National Defense Authorization Act, Karoline Leavitt.