Trump UFO answer: how has he not heard of the UAP program?

When Donald Trump sat down for his 60 Minutes interview, the one that's going viral for many different reasons, he was asked about UAPs. He said he hadn't heard of a secret program to study them. I find that answer baffling. If it's true that he's never heard of it, it tells me nobody around him takes this topic seriously, and anybody getting excited about the government's UAP releases shouldn't be.

First, credit where it's due. Good on the reporter for asking about it. When anybody, and especially the president of the United States, is working on UAP information and releasing things, you should ask some hard questions about it. This reporter did, so props to him for that.

What Trump told 60 Minutes about UFOs and Air Force pilots

The interviewer raised it by noting that many people ask about UFOs, including people you wouldn't expect. Trump said he's "not too much of a believer," but that during his first term, and a little of his second, he sat in the Oval Office with Air Force pilots. He described them as good, solid people who are not conspiracy theorists. According to Trump, those pilots told him "very strange" things.

His example was pilots flying an F-22, which he called the best and fastest plane anyone has ever seen. Something went past them at three times their speed. "It's round. It's not aerodynamic. It's round," he said.

The interviewer then moved to the whistleblowers, who have said there's a secret program, one even presidents don't know about, to study this. Asked whether he'd seen any evidence of that, Trump answered: "I haven't heard that, but if there is, I'm going to find out about it right after this interview."

Why Trump's pilot story isn't what stood out to me

The pilot story is the same thing he's been saying forever. He's not a believer, he's talked to pilots who fly the fastest planes, they're solid people, they saw some strange things, he doesn't think they're lying, and so he wanted to look into it. We've heard that a million times over.

What stands out is the second answer. The interviewer laid out the claim of a reverse engineering program and a secret effort even presidents don't know about, and Trump said he hadn't heard that. How have you not heard that? I'd guess the person reading this has heard it. It's been all over the place, especially when much of his own party was looking into it.

Does Trump know who David Grusch is?

I bet, and I know it sounds crazy, that he does not know the name David Grusch. Then again, maybe he does, because Grusch has said he's met with him a couple of times. That would be crazy all in itself.

If Grusch has met Trump, which is it? Is Grusch full of it, or is Trump holding something back and not saying anything? Because his answer on national television was that he hadn't heard of it and would look into it after the interview.

Why I think the UAP file releases are about clicks

Trump gave away, at the start of that answer, why he's releasing any tranches at all: he gets asked about it the most. Whenever they put something out, it gets the most clicks. I don't think he cares about this topic, and I don't think most of them care about the idea in general.

You don't have to believe any of it. But if a pilot or someone who has worked for the government says there was a reverse engineering program, you'd expect someone to look into it and brief the president. No one's briefing this guy. If nobody is, and he's truly never heard about it, then they don't care. It's not an important topic to them at all. If this is real and he has never heard about it, then nobody's trying to figure out anything.

My theory is that at some point it became: let's get some stuff out there, release what you can. What can we release? They're told they can release this, this and this. So they release that, people click on it, it's great, and they stick to the promise that they're doing something. That's why I think they're not trying to do anything else.

Could Trump be holding back for a bigger announcement?

There is another possibility. Maybe the people who should be briefing him aren't getting any access. Or maybe they're keeping it quiet because they want to make a big announcement down the line and this is part of it. If his answer is nonsense because they're holding something out for later, okay. Do I think that's the case? No.

Then there's Stephen Miller. Joe Rogan has said Miller told him something is coming out. Why would Rogan lie about that? If Miller said it, and it's true that something big is coming, you'd assume it has to do with the whistleblowers and the reverse engineering program. Yet Trump says he's never heard about it. I don't know. This whole thing is stupid, and it gets you frustrated with the way it's being run.

JD Vance, Mike Turner and the UAP Disclosure Act

It's not being taken seriously, not by the government. Look at JD Vance and his little giggle every time it's brought up.

There has been a shift in the House and Senate seats. A couple of years ago, Schumer was trying to pass the UAPDA, and it kept getting shot down. Mike Turner was one of the people shooting it down and blocking it, and Turner is no longer in power. Is that something that changes things? It's possible. But I feel like something else will happen and somebody else will step in to stop it, if they're even going to try to run that bill anymore.

I'd love to see the same reporter follow up and dig deeper, or for somebody to press Trump further on a longer form podcast. I don't know if that's ever going to happen. Either he knows about it, has an announcement, and isn't giving it up to 60 Minutes, or he has no idea what the reporter was talking about. Neither is great.

Why I don't think disclosure is coming from the government

For a long time, it always seemed like the government was the one hiding it. So when this other faction appeared that seemed to be trying to bring it to light, I thought maybe that was the way to do it. Now I think it's all a dog and pony show. It's nonsense. They're never going to get the information out there for you, and if people are saying an announcement is coming, I don't think it is.

I'm not being a skeptic who says we're never getting disclosure. I don't think it's coming from the government, not like this, and it doesn't matter which party. I don't think either party cares about this topic. They think it's taboo, they think it's nonsense, or if they know what it is, they're holding it too close to the vest. Eventually there could be a real whistleblower, or something else that comes out. But I'm not holding my breath.