Trump Draws Backlash for UFO Disclosure, an ‘Epic Distraction’ From Epstein Files, Iran War and More

President Trump invited Americans to "have fun and enjoy" the Pentagon's release of never-before-seen UAP files Friday, including Buzz Aldrin's 1969 Apollo 11 debrief describing "unusual" observations and Ronald Evans's Apollo 17 account of "a few very bright particles" drifting past the spacecraft. Harrison Schmitt radioed that it looked "like the Fourth of July out of Ron's window." Yet the documents, framed as "complete and maximum transparency," triggered an immediate backlash that drowned out any sense of wonder.

The files mark the first in a rolling series of Defense Department disclosures. Trump posted the invitation on Truth Social. But the timing landed amid demands for the full Epstein client list, frustration over a new Iran conflict the administration once vowed to end, and sticker-shock grocery and energy bills. The result was not awe but accusations of deliberate distraction.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene led the charge, labeling the release "'shiny object' propaganda." She wrote on X that she doesn't care about the UFO files while "they wage foreign wars, let rapists and pedophiles run free and ruin the value of our dollar." In a follow-up she noted the "most transparent administration in history still hasn't released all the Epstein files or arrested anyone" yet rolled out UFO documents so voters would forget they're paying "over $4.50/gallon" for gas.

Memes and raw frustration flooded the platform. One user declared, "Motherf–ker I don’t give a f-ck about some UFOs, groceries are high, gas is high, electricity bills are high but hey UFO’s f–k outta my face with this bullsh-t." Comedian and podcaster Tim Dillon went further, arguing on his show that the administration "wants people to go crazy now" and is "actually try to terrify you and drive you insane," whether the sightings are real or not.

Not every reaction was hostile. One observer noted that director Steven Spielberg, whose film "Disclosure Day" opens next month, must be the "happiest person" about the free publicity. Still, the dominant online sentiment framed the disclosure as "Operation Epic Distraction," complete with side-by-side images juxtaposing UFO headlines against stalled Epstein revelations.

The Pentagon insists more files will follow. Greene and her chorus insist the real files Americans want remain locked away. That tension, not the bright particles outside an Apollo window, is what lingers after Friday's big reveal.

Original reporting: TheWrap.