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Trump on 60 Minutes: pilots told him a round object outran their F-22

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On Sunday, November 8, President Donald Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes that Air Force pilots had described a round object passing their F-22 fighter jet at three times its speed. He has told the same story before with a figure of four times the speed, and he again did not name the pilots or say when or where it happened.

What did Trump say?

The interview was conducted by 60 Minutes correspondent Ross Douthat at the White House, a few days after the midterm elections. Douthat asked whether Trump had seen or heard anything suggesting there is more to UFOs than curiosity. He noted that much of the footage the government has released has been fuzzy and perhaps a little disappointing.

Trump said people ask him about UFOs in private all the time, including people he would not expect. He said he is "not too much of a believer." During his first term, and to a lesser extent his second, he met Air Force pilots in the Oval Office. In his view, these pilots are not conspiracy theorists.

According to Trump, the pilots told him "very strange" things. They were flying an F-22, and something went past them at three times their speed. Trump said the object was round, not aerodynamic. He then suggested it might have been a comet, but the conversation moved on at that point.

Three times or four?

This is not the first time Trump has told the story. In 2024 he described it in several interviews, including Logan Paul's podcast and Fox News's Gutfeld! In those versions, the round object was four times faster than the F-22. On Gutfeld! he spoke of three or four pilots.

On October 15 this year, Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty he had spoken with five or six pilots, and again gave a figure of four times the speed. He also said he had asked whether it could have been a comet, and that the pilot rejected the idea.

The three-times figure from 60 Minutes therefore differs from the earlier ones. It is unclear whether Trump is describing the same incident. In none of the interviews did he name the pilots or say when and where the encounter took place.

A secret program?

Douthat also asked whether Trump had seen evidence for a claim made by people who describe themselves as whistleblowers. They say a secret UFO program exists that even presidents are not told about. Trump said he had not seen any such evidence and had not heard of it. He added that if such a program exists, he would look into it right after the interview.

He also mentioned the chain-link fence in Nevada, where crowds of tourists gather because they believe that is where it all happens. Trump said he does not think that is true. Douthat asked whether his interest was only because the public is interested. Trump replied that he would like to find out whether it is true, because a lot of solid people believe it.

Where do the UFO files stand?

Since May 8, the Pentagon has been releasing government UFO records in batches under the PURSUE program. The seventh batch came out on October 23, and according to The Washington Times the next one is being prepared. According to IBTimes UK, none of the publicly described records in the seventh batch is linked to the F-22 encounter.

The sober take

What is certain

In the 60 Minutes interview that aired on Sunday, Trump said Air Force pilots told him about a round object that was three times faster than their F-22. This appears in the transcript published by CBS.
He has told the same story in several interviews since 2024, with a figure of four times the speed.
In his own words, he has seen no evidence of a secret UFO program.

What is not proven

What event the pilots reported, and when and where it happened. Trump has not said in any interview.
The object's speed. There is no public radar data, cockpit video, or other measurement. The speed of an unknown object can only be estimated if its distance is known. Without the distance, its apparent speed says nothing about its actual speed.
Whether the three-times and four-times figures refer to the same incident.

Strengths and weaknesses of the explanations

In favor of the account: Trump says several experienced military pilots told him similar things.
Against it: the story is secondhand. Trump is recalling meetings from his first term, and the details change from interview to interview. The encounter also does not appear among the publicly described records of the seventh PURSUE batch.
Trump himself raised the comet idea. He told Newsmax the pilot rejected it. Other explanations cannot be properly assessed until the date, location, and aircraft data are known.

Open question

The pilots' official report or the aircraft's sensor data could settle the case. If they were included in a future PURSUE batch, it might become clear what the pilots saw. Until then, the story is a president's recollection that can be neither confirmed nor ruled out.