Was Trump actually told about the existence of aliens? Here’s what we know

With everything that has happened this year – news of extraterrestrial life maybe doesn’t seem completely...out of this world – or does it?

Aliens are real and President Donald Trump knows about it – or at least, according to Israel's former space security chief, who stressed – in an extraordinary and highly unusual interview that information about aliens had been kept a secret as "humanity is not ready". 

Because of this, Trump was allegedly asked (by the aliens?) to keep quiet about it, despite being “on the verge of revealing” the information. Haim Eshed, in an interview to Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper last week, spoke extensively about alien life, and explained there is "an agreement" between the US government and a "Galactic Federation" of aliens.

A respected professor and retired general, Eshed said the aliens were interested in humanity and were also hoping to understand "the fabric of the universe."

He also said there is an "underground base in the depths of Mars" where there are American astronauts and alien representatives.

The stunning and bizarre interview immediately sparked speculation that learning of the existence of the ‘Galactic Federation’ prompted Trump to create the Space Force – a new branch of the military. 

“My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air and sea,” Trump said in 2018.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: the biggest proof of alien life, by far, is that Donald Trump got his first intelligence briefing and was immediately like 'uh...SPACE FORCE,'" one person tweeted.

And while the US government has yet to comment on the matter, Eshed’s comments immediately generated eye-rolling, a wave of jokes and plenty of conspiracy theories.

One Twitter account, claiming to be “Galactic Federation Official” wrote: “I have been authorized to grant one lucky Earthling the opportunity of a lifetime. A 24-hour tour of our nearest facility to Earth!”

What does NASA have to say about all this? While the space agency has not completely dismissed the possibility of life beyond earth, it seems they have yet to find signs of alien life:

“Extraterrestrial presence on regular display is, of course, a fiction. No life beyond Earth has ever been found; there is no evidence that alien life has ever visited our planet…” it says on their website.  “This does not mean, however, that the universe is lifeless.”

While Eshed’s comments remain unclear, and seem unlikely…at best. Some were not particularly surprised by the alleged news – it is 2020 after all.

But others were definitely not convinced, considering Trump’s inability to not incessantly tweet everything he’s thinking. As one person wrote, “It was believable till they mentioned that Trump can keep a secret as big as this. That man would have claimed credit.”