Overview
A report in the British tabloid Daily Star claims that a cache of UFO‑related material released by former President Donald Trump includes video footage of a “non‑human craft.” The story, published on 17 March 2026, suggests the material could reignite public fascination with unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). The article cites former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Christopher Mellon as the source of the claim, but no government agency has verified the authenticity of the video, and U.S. officials have not commented on its existence.
Claims and Sources
According to the Daily Star, Mellon told the New York Post that he had personally viewed “shocking evidence” of extraterrestrial technology, including satellite images and video of a craft that “sure don’t look like anything we have built.” The tabloid reproduces a fragment of Mellon’s statement:
“We have satellite imagery of craft that sure don’t look like anything we have built.”
Mellon, who served in the Pentagon during the Obama administration and later worked on the U.S. government’s UAP investigations, is a well‑known advocate for greater transparency on the subject. However, the Daily Star did not provide the original footage, nor did it disclose the chain of custody for the material, leaving the claim uncorroborated by independent experts.
Official Response
When contacted, the Department of Defense declined to confirm or deny the existence of any such video in Trump’s possession. A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reiterated the agency’s standard position that “no new classified UAP material has been released to the public” beyond what was already disclosed in the 2021 UAP report and subsequent congressional briefings. The lack of official acknowledgment underscores the difficulty of assessing the veracity of the Daily Star’s allegation, especially given the tabloid’s history of sensational headlines.
Historical Context
The United States has maintained a patchwork of programs—most notably the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and the more recent All‑Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)—to investigate sightings of unexplained aerial objects. In June 2021, an unclassified report acknowledged 144 UAP incidents, with many still lacking plausible explanations. While former President Trump has occasionally hinted at “big, beautiful” UFO files during his tenure, no definitive evidence has emerged from his administration. The current claim, if verified, would represent the most concrete visual evidence released to date, but it arrives amid ongoing debates over classification, de‑classification, and the scientific rigor of UAP research.
Implications and Next Steps
If the footage proves authentic, it could prompt renewed congressional hearings and potentially accelerate the push for a permanent, bipartisan UAP oversight committee. Researchers and aerospace analysts would likely demand a forensic analysis of the video’s metadata, sensor signatures, and flight characteristics. Conversely, should the claim be disproven, it may reinforce skepticism about sensationalist reporting on the UFO topic. For now, journalists and the public must await further disclosure from credible government sources before drawing conclusions about the alleged non‑human craft in Trump’s files.
