Former US President Barack Obama says aliens are real but shoots down conspiracy theory about Area 51 in new interview with Brian Tyler Cohen.

Obama has addressed long-standing speculation about extraterrestrial life and the secrets of Area 51, offering a light-hearted but clear response during an appearance on the No Lie podcast with Brian Tyler Cohen.

“For decades Americans have wondered about the existence of aliens and the mysterious desert holding facility Area 51, and now Barack Obama – after two terms as president – has finally given an answer.”

“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them, and they’re not being kept in – what is it?” Obama said. “There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”

When Cohen asked what question he most wanted answered upon taking office, Obama replied with a laugh, “Where are the aliens?”

Area 51, the highly classified US military base in southern Nevada, has long been the focus of conspiracy theories. Claims have included the storage and reverse engineering of crashed alien spacecraft, particularly materials allegedly recovered in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Other theories suggest experimentation with advanced weapons, time travel, teleportation technology and even weather control.

Obama’s remarks follow comments by documentary director Dan Farah, who alleged a major government cover-up of non-human intelligence. “I think it’s only a matter of time before the release of this film is followed by a sitting president stepping to the podium and telling the world, ‘We’re not alone in the universe,'” Farah said.

Despite such claims, Donald Trump has not publicly confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial life, though he has acknowledged hearing reports of unusual aerial phenomena.