Nearly five decades after Jimmy Carter entered the White House, a new claim has reignited debate about what U.S. presidents may know about unidentified flying objects. Physicist Dr. Eric Davis recently stated that Carter received a classified UFO briefing in June 1977 that allegedly contained information about contact between the United States government and non-human beings.

The claim, discussed during a podcast conversation involving Davis, Eric Weinstein and host Jesse Michaels, adds fresh details to a long-circulating story about Carter’s early presidency and his interest in the UFO phenomenon. While the claim has not been independently verified, it has drawn renewed attention to a period when UFOs briefly became a subject of serious discussion inside the White House.

The Alleged 1977 UFO Briefing

According to Davis, the briefing occurred only months after Carter took office in January 1977. What reportedly began as a routine meeting in the National Security Council conference room allegedly shifted location when the topic of UFOs emerged.

Davis claims the discussion moved to the Oval Office, where Carter was informed about classified information regarding UFOs and possible interactions between government agencies and extraterrestrial entities.

Another intriguing detail concerns the documentation of the meeting. Davis says records exist in the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library that include an attendee list. All participants are visible in the document except for two individuals whose names and affiliations remain redacted nearly fifty years later.

The existence of those redactions has fueled speculation among UFO researchers about who might have attended the meeting and what agencies they represented.

Confirmation Claims From Carter Staff

Davis also stated that the briefing was later confirmed by Alonzo McDonald, who served as a senior staff member in the Carter White House.

According to Davis, McDonald reportedly investigated the matter after hearing about the meeting and spoke directly with Carter and other participants. After doing so, McDonald allegedly concluded that the briefing did indeed occur.

If accurate, this would suggest that discussions about UFOs were occurring at the highest levels of government during Carter’s first year in office.

Links to the Controversial “Project Aquarius”

The story has also been linked to a rumored classified program known as Project Aquarius, a name that has appeared in UFO documents since the early 1980s.

Davis suggested that officials attending the meeting were given briefing documents that had to be returned afterward. Later, some of those participants allegedly reconstructed the briefing from memory. That reconstruction supposedly became known among researchers as the Aquarius document.

The document refers to a highly restricted intelligence program and mentions oversight by a small group sometimes associated with the controversial MJ-12 documents, which have long been debated within UFO research circles.

However, historians note that the Aquarius material may contain a mixture of authentic terminology and deliberate misinformation. Some versions of the documents were clearly altered over time, casting doubt on their reliability.

Carter’s Personal Interest in UFOs

The renewed attention on the story is partly due to Carter’s own history with UFO sightings.

Before becoming president, Carter publicly reported witnessing a strange object in the sky in 1969 while attending a Lions Club meeting in Georgia. During the 1976 presidential campaign, he spoke openly about the experience and promised that, if elected, he would help release UFO information to scientists and the public.

This statement created enormous public interest. Once Carter entered office, the White House reportedly received large volumes of letters from citizens asking for UFO disclosure or sharing their own sightings.

Attempts to Reopen UFO Research

Inside the administration, officials explored the possibility of creating a new scientific investigation of UFO sightings. One idea was to have NASA lead a civilian research program that would replace the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book, which had been shut down in 1969.

The proposal quickly encountered resistance.

NASA officials argued that UFO reports did not justify launching a major research program. According to accounts from the period, intelligence agencies were also reluctant to reopen the issue, and the plan ultimately stalled.

By the end of 1977, the public effort to study UFOs had effectively faded away.

The United Nations UFO Proposal

The UFO topic also surfaced in international diplomacy during Carter’s presidency.

In September 1977, Carter met with Eric Gairy, the prime minister of Grenada. Gairy had a personal interest in UFO sightings and proposed that the United Nations create an international investigation into the phenomenon.

Grenada later attempted to push for a UN resolution encouraging global cooperation on UFO research. The initiative failed to gain support, with both the United States and the United Kingdom opposing the effort.

Nevertheless, the episode illustrates how visible the UFO issue had become during Carter’s first year in office.

A Moment When UFOs Reached the Political Mainstream

Despite Carter’s earlier interest, the administration eventually stopped pursuing the issue publicly. Researchers have long wondered why a president who had promised transparency on UFOs appeared to abandon the subject so quickly.

If the briefing described by Eric Davis did occur, it could provide one possible explanation. According to some accounts circulating in UFO research circles, Carter was reportedly deeply troubled after learning classified information about the phenomenon.

However, without official confirmation or newly declassified documents, the true details of what the president may have been told remain unknown.

Renewed Interest in a Historical Mystery

The recent claims from Dr. Eric Davis have prompted historians and UFO researchers to revisit the events of 1977, a year when the UFO question briefly came close to the center of American political life.

Whether the alleged briefing actually took place remains uncertain. Still, the story highlights how the subject of unidentified aerial phenomena has repeatedly intersected with government secrecy, intelligence agencies, and political decision-making.

With growing public interest in UAPs and ongoing discussions in governments around the world, the Carter era may yet reveal new insights into how leaders have privately confronted one of the most enduring mysteries of the modern age.