US President Donald Trump accused his predecessor Barack Obama of revealing classified information when he recently said that aliens are real, Reuters reported.
The agency notes that Trump did not provide any evidence to support his accusations.
„He took it out of classified information. He should not have done that. "He made a big mistake," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Georgia.
During an interview with host Brian Tyler Cohen that aired online on Saturday, Obama was asked if "aliens are real."
"They are real, but I haven't seen them and they don't hang out at Area 51. There's no underground facility unless there's a huge conspiracy and they've hidden it from the president of the United States," Obama said.
Area 51 is a classified Air Force facility in Nevada that conspiracy theorists believe contains alien bodies and a crashed spacecraft. CIA archives released in 2013 say the site was actually a testing ground for secret spy planes.
Reuters notes that there was no indication in Obama's remarks that the former president was referring to classified information. “I have seen no evidence during my presidency that aliens have made contact with us. "Really!" Obama wrote on Instagram on Sunday.
In the post, Obama explained his belief that aliens exist, saying that the statistical probability of life beyond Earth is high because the universe is vast, but added that the chances of alien life visiting Earth are low, given the distance.
Trump himself responded with "I don't know if they're real or not" when asked if he had seen evidence that aliens exist.
The White House said it had nothing to add to the president's comments. Obama's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States has paid about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations, a spokesman said, and President Donald Trump has pledged more funds to the financially struggling organization, the Associated Press reported.
The Trump administration's contribution last week is intended for the UN's regular operating budget, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The UN said the United States owes $2.196 billion in regular budget payments, including $767 million this year, as well as $1.8 billion in separate budgets for the UN's various peacekeeping operations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned late last month that the world body faces "inevitable financial collapse" unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member states pay their dues - a message clearly aimed at the United States.
In a letter to all member states, Guterres said that funds for the regular budget could run out by July, which could dramatically affect the UN's operations.
UN officials have said that 95% of the overdue payments to the UN's regular budget come from the United States.
The disclosure of the US payment followed the first meeting of the Peace Council, a new Trump initiative initially aimed at overseeing a ceasefire in Gaza but whose broader ambitions, many say, include an attempt to rival the UN Security Council's role in preventing and ending conflicts around the world.
Dujarric said last week that Guterres was in contact with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz about the arrears. The U.N. said 55 countries had paid their annual contributions for 2026 before the Feb. 8 deadline.