Trump says he will declassify reports on UFOs

President Donald Trump says he's directing the government to release classified files about UFOs and extraterrestrial life in response to a spike in interest in the subject caused by one of his predecessors in the White House.

Trump announced on social media Thursday that he would direct the Department of Defense and other agencies to release the material days after former President Barack Obama suggested in an interview that aliens are "real" though he hadn't seen any.

"Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters," Trump said in the social media post.