President Trump this week said Pentagon footage of unidentified flying objects is “a hell of a video,” though he also questioned if it was “real” despite its release through official military channels.
The Defense Department on Monday released three videos taken by Navy pilots — one shot in 2004, the two others in 2015 — showing close encounters with “unidentified aerial phenomena.” While the footage has been circulating on the internet for years, its public release by the Pentagon brought new attention to military research into UFOs and raised questions about how many other mysterious videos remain classified.
“I just wonder if it’s real,” Mr. Trump told Reuters in an interview conducted Wednesday and published Thursday. “That’s a hell of a video.”
The Pentagon said it released the videos to address public speculation that it had something to hide. Officials also said that years after the footage was taken, there is still no explanation for the objects.
“DOD is releasing the videos in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos,” Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough said earlier this week. “The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as ’unidentified.’”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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