{"id":2600641,"date":"2026-05-09T05:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/critics-say-trumps-ufo-files-release-meant-to-distract-from-iran\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T05:47:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:47:01","slug":"critics-say-trumps-ufo-files-release-meant-to-distract-from-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/critics-say-trumps-ufo-files-release-meant-to-distract-from-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics say Trump&#8217;s UFO files release meant to distract from Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcritics-say-trumps-ufo-files-release-meant-to-distract-from-iran%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2600641&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump\u2019s release of the first tranche of declassified UFO\/UAP files on Friday sparked praise from longtime clarity advocates but drew sharp skepticism from critics on both the Left and Right, who questioned whether the timing is meant to distract from the ongoing war in Iran, lingering uncertainty in the Jeffrey Epstein case, and public frustration with inflation.  <\/p>\n<p>The release follows a February executive order cleared by Trump, with the Pentagon beginning to comply soon after. Trump framed the action as part of \u201ccomplete and maximum transparency,\u201d saying Americans can judge for themselves what the documents and videos reveal about \u201calien and extraterrestrial life\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-senator-harry-reid-thinks-government-has-ufo-fragments-backs-ex-pentagon-official-who-claims-cover-up\/\" title=\"Former Senator Harry Reid Thinks Government Has UFO \u2018Fragments\u2019 Backs Ex-Pentagon Official Who Claims Cover-Up\">unidentified aerial phenomena<\/a>. Some viewers reportedly enjoyed newly released encounter videos, while others<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >-including prominent conservatives-argued<\/a> the move is \u201csmoke and mirrors.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>Former Trump officials and Republican lawmakers, such as Reps. Tim Burchett and others, suggested the \u201cgood news\u201d narrative didn\u2019t fit the moment, pointing to difficulties in iran-related negotiations and comparing the president\u2019s diplomatic approach to past deals. Marjorie Taylor Greene, such as, criticized the release as \u201cshiny object\u201d propaganda, saying the management hasn\u2019t released all Epstein-related materials or arrested anyone, and implying the UFO files are meant to shift attention from other issues. White House officials, simultaneously occurring, rejected the criticism, reiterating that the release is intended to provide maximum disclosure and let the public decide what the files mean.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4560617\/trump-mothers-day-brunch-angel-moms-gold-star-families\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s release of declassified UFO files on Friday drew excitement from longtime transparency advocates \u2014 and immediate skepticism from critics on both the Left and Right who argued the timing was meant to distract from the war in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4556500\/rubio-vance-2028-iran\/\">Iran<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wapo-says-fetterman-has-squandered-credibility-over-health-urges-democrat-to-release-medical-records\/\" title=\"WaPo Says Fetterman Has \u2018Squandered Credibility\u2019 Over Health, Urges Democrat To ... Medical Records\">lingering questions surrounding<\/a> the Jeffrey Epstein case, and voter frustration over inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Trump signed an executive order in February clearing the way for the public release of the federal government\u2019s tranche of materials surrounding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, popularly known as Unidentified Flying Objects. The Pentagon began following through on that order almost immediately, according to senior administration officials, and released the first <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.war.gov\/UFO\/\">tranche<\/a> of materials on Friday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4560838\/state-department-passports-child-support-debt\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>State Department to revoke passports for US holders with \u2018significant\u2019 child support debt<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4560615\/watch-live-trump-speaks-white-house-rose-garden\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Trump speaks in White House Rose Garden<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4560507\/panel-paint-details-trump-plan-eisenhower-building\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Panel seeks paint details before approving Trump\u2019s plan for Eisenhower building<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u201cAs for my promise to you, the Department of War has released the first tranche of the UFO\/UAP files to the Public for their review and study. In an effort for Complete and Maximum Transparency, it was my Honor to direct my Administration to identify and provide Government files related to Alien and Extraterrestrial Life, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, and Unidentified Flying Objects,\u201d Trump wrote in an accompanying statement on social media. \u201cWhereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, \u2018WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?\u2019 Have Fun and Enjoy!\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Some viewers did just that and reveled in newly released videos detailing encounters between American aircraft and potential extraterrestrial objects.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4560147\/susie-wiles-isnt-leaving-anytime-soon\/\"><strong>SUSIE WILES ISN\u2019T \u2018LEAVING ANYTIME SOON\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But others, including a number of prominent voices on the Right, bristled at the administration\u2019s timing.<\/p>\n<p>One former senior Trump White House official, who generally backs Trump but disapproves of the war in Iran, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Friday\u2019s timing is just \u201csmoke and mirrors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe White House says the war is over \u2014 whatever \u2014 but the negotiations are breaking down in real time,\u201d that person said. \u201cIran is literally attacking our boats in the strait. How isn\u2019t that a resumption of fighting?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlus, the diplomatic solution the president is offering sounds an awful lot like the Obama nuclear deal which, unless I\u2019m mistaken, was absolutely terrible and we all hated,\u201d the former Trump aide continued with a laugh. \u201cOnly a seriously low IQ individual wouldn\u2019t be able to connect the dots here.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A number of Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), previewed Friday\u2019s release on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Podcaster Joe Rogan sat down with Burchett for an interview that aired Friday, where he pressed the congressman on whether the files were meant to distract from the war in Iran.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat doesn\u2019t totally make sense is why now \u2026 other than \u2014 I mean, this is being cynical \u2014 the Iran war isn\u2019t going very well,\u201d Rogan, who backed Trump in 2024 but has since soured on his policies, said to Burchett. \u201cThe American public\u2019s very upset. A lot of people don\u2019t think we should ever have been involved in that in the first place and we need some good news.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of Trump\u2019s staunchest defenders before the administration\u2019s handling of inflation and the Epstein files earned her the president\u2019s ire last year and an early retirement.<\/p>\n<p>She reacted even more cynically than Rogan on Friday, posting on X that she \u201creally\u201d doesn\u2019t \u201ccare about the UFO files,\u201d despite her past comments on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so sick of the \u2018look at the shiny object\u2019 propaganda while they wage foreign wars, let rapist and pedophiles run free, and ruin the value of our dollar,\u201d she posted. \u201cUnless they roll out live aliens and test demo UFOs or actually admit what we know this really is then I have way better things to do on this Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I really don\u2019t care about the UFO files. <\/p>\n<p>I just don\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m so sick of the \u201clook at the shiny object\u201d propaganda while they wage foreign wars, let rapist and pedophiles run free, and ruin the value of our dollar. <\/p>\n<p>Unless they roll out live aliens and test demo UFOs or\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Marjorie Taylor Greene \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@mtgreenee) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mtgreenee\/status\/2052733116834337208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe most transparent administration in history still hasn\u2019t released all the Epstein files or arrested anyone, but rolled out some UFO files today so you would get so excited that you forgot you are paying over $4.50\/gallon because they are fighting another foreign war they said they would no longer fight,\u201d Greene added in a follow-up post.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The most transparent administration in history still hasn\u2019t released all the Epstein files or arrested anyone, but rolled out some UFO files today so you would get so excited that you forgot you are paying over $4.50\/gallon because they are fighting another foreign war they said\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Marjorie Taylor Greene \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@mtgreenee) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mtgreenee\/status\/2052745754570043457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>White House officials discounted the criticism.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4559302\/trumpworld-debates-marco-rubio-rise-2028-election\/\"><strong>MARCO-MANIA OR \u2018MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL?\u2019 TRUMPWORLD DEBATES RUBIO\u2019S RISE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Trump directed the Department of War to identify and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bernice-king-taunts-trump-to-release-epstein-files\/\" title=\"Bernice King taunts ... to ... ...\">release government files related<\/a> to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-dni-chief-ufos-seen-that-replicate-technology-unavailable-to-humans\/\" title=\"Former DNI Chief: UFOs Seen That Replicate Technology Unavailable To Humans\">unidentified flying objects<\/a> because he is the most transparent president in history,\u201d White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, echoing Trump\u2019s rationale on the timing of the release. \u201cWhile past administrations have sought to discredit or dissuade the American people, the President is focused on providing maximum disclosure to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files. The American people asked, and President Trump delivered \u2014 enjoy!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump releases UFO files; some praise transparency, others doubt timing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2600642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128602474059.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4365,3823,3634,18433],"class_list":["post-2600641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-critics","tag-iran","tag-trump","tag-ufos"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128602474059.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600641"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2600645,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600641\/revisions\/2600645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2600642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}