KEY POINTS

  • President Joe Biden ducked a reporter's question about former President Barack Obama's comments on UFOs
  • Obama previously said there are "footage and records" of flying objects whose movement the government can't explain
  • Intelligence agencies are expected to deliver a report on "unidentified aerial phenomena" to Congress in June

President Joe Biden hurried off the stage Friday after he was asked to comment on former President Barack Obama's recent remarks about UFOs, or "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP).

During a joint news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, a reporter asked Biden about his thoughts on Obama's recent comments that there are footage and records of flying objects that the government can't explain ahead of the Pentagon's upcoming report on UFO sightings.

"[Former] President Obama says there is footage and records of objects in the sky — these unidentified aerial phenomena — and he says we don’t know exactly what they are. What do you think?" the reporter was quoted by NBC News as saying near the end of the conference.

Biden only gave a smile and said, "I would ask him again." He then thanked the crowd and exited the conference, with the outlet noting that he did not even take out his translation earpiece.

Public interest in UFOs was reignited after the Department of Defense formally released three Navy videos that contain UAPs last year. The DOD also confirmed in April that separate photos and videos of UFOs taken by Navy personnel in 2019 were legitimate, CNN reported.

Last week, Obama was asked to weigh in on UFO sightings when he made an appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Corden."

"When it comes to aliens, there are some things I just can’t tell you on air," the former president joked during the interview.

"What is true, and I'm actually being serious here, is that there is footage and records of objects in the skies that we don't know exactly what they are. We can't explain how they move, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so I think that people still take it seriously, trying to investigate and figure out what that is," he continued.

A detailed report on UFO sightings from intelligence agencies is expected to be handed over to Congress next month. Compiled by the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, the report is set to reveal what the Pentagon knows about UAPs so far.

UFO
A panel of scientists concluded, on June 29, 1998, that science has badly neglected the study of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), despite numerous reports and considerable public interest. REUTERS