Vice President JD Vance said he believes unexplained aerial phenomena often described as aliens may instead have a different origin. The comments came during an interview in which he was asked about the potential release of government UFO files.
While speaking with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Vance said the administration is working on making information public. He added that reviewing those materials remains a priority.
“Ah, we’re workin’ on it,” Vance said. “I was obsessed with the UFO files when I got into office, but I’ve been busy.” The VP added that he still intends to examine the issue more closely. “I will get to the bottom of it,” he said.
He also offered his personal view on the phenomenon. “I don’t think they’re aliens. I think they’re demons anyway,” Vance said.
When pressed to explain, Vance pointed to religious interpretations of unexplained events. He said many belief systems have long acknowledged phenomena that are difficult to explain through conventional means.
“Well, look, I think that celestial beings who fly around, who do weird things to people — I think that the desire to describe everything celestial… to describe it as aliens — I mean every great world religion, including Christianity, the one that I believe in, has understood that there are weird things out there, and there are things that are very difficult to explain,” Vance said.
“And I naturally go — when I hear about, sort of, extra-natural phenomenon — that’s where I go to is the Christian understanding that, you know, there’s a lotta good out there, but there’s also some evil out there,” he added.
Vance said he believes some explanations may be rooted in spiritual concepts. “One of the devil’s great tricks is to convince people he never existed,” he said.
The comments come as President Donald Trump has directed agencies to begin identifying and releasing files related to unidentified aerial phenomena. The effort follows longstanding public interest in government records tied to UFOs.
“Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs),” Trump said in a statement.
The administration has not provided a timeline for when additional materials will be released. Officials have said the review process is ongoing.