President Trump has spoken publicly for the first time about reports of at least ten American scientists and experts linked to nuclear research, aerospace programs, and classified projects who have either disappeared or died under unexplained circumstances since 2023.
The comments come amid mounting calls for a formal investigation and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt being asked about the cases.
In an exchange captured on video Thursday after Trump landed at the White House, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy raised the issue directly.
BREAKING: President Trump vows to look into the 10 scientists who have gone missing or turned up dead:
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 16, 2026
"I hope it's random, but we're going to know in the next week and a half."
"I just left a meeting on that subject."
"Pretty serious stuff… Some of them were very important… pic.twitter.com/VMgeZyayXl
Doocy asked: “There are these ten missing scientists with access to classified stuff, nuclear material, aerospace, they’ve all gone missing or turned up dead in the last couple months. Based on what you’ve been briefed, what do you think is happening here? And do you think that this is connected or totally random?”
Trump replied: “Well, I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half.”
He contiuned, “I just left a meeting on that subject. So, pretty serious stuff.”
“But we’re going to be hopefully, I don’t know, coincidence if you want whatever you want to call it, but some of them were very important people and we’re going to look at it over the next short period,” Trump added.
Doocy followed up by asking whether a foreign adversary could be involved. Trump responded by pivoting to immigration, stating “Well, you know, Biden had open borders. It wasn’t very hard to get here. But we’ve gotten many of them out. You know, we’ve caught many, many people — many, many very bad people, including thousands of murderers that we’ve taken out of our country, thousands of drug lords that we’ve taken out of our country, hundreds of thousands of prisoners that were let into the U.S. that we’ve taken out of our country.”
He came back to the scientists, concluding “As far as scientists are concerned, we’ll probably have a pretty good answer over the next week.”
? TRUMP IS LOOKING INTO THE 10 MISSING SCIENTISTS!
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 16, 2026
"A possible foreign operation that could be involved here. That's why they're investigating."
"There was a meeting at the White House today on the deaths or disappearances of 10 scientists and staffers, many of whom have… pic.twitter.com/flRPCDZJSg
The cases involve individuals connected to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory programs, and nuclear weapons component manufacturing. Several vanished while walking or hiking, often leaving behind phones, keys, wallets, and other personal items. Others were found dead under circumstances ranging from shootings to unexplained drownings.
Key examples include retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, who oversaw classified aerospace research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and disappeared from his New Mexico home in February 2025; NASA JPL materials scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, who vanished during a hike in California in June 2025; and nuclear facility contractors and administrators from Los Alamos and the Kansas City National Security Campus who went missing in 2025. Five others, including nuclear physicists and astrophysicists working on fusion, asteroid detection, and exoplanet research, have died since 2023.
? NOW: Mass calls for investigations are ramping up after nearly a DOZEN of America's top scientists either died or disappeared with few answers
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 16, 2026
The scientists happen to be tied to "critical secrets."
"This has the hallmarks of a FOREIGN OPERATION."
This is insane. ?
"These… pic.twitter.com/rygr0QmDZ3
Leavitt had addressed the matter at the White House briefing the previous day, stating she had not yet consulted relevant agencies but would do so. She added: “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and administration would deem worth looking into.”
Speculation had already escalated following the disappearance of the tenth expert:
Trump’s remarks set a clear timeline for answers, with results expected within roughly ten days. No formal conclusion has been announced, and authorities have not publicly confirmed whether the incidents are connected or the work of a foreign actor.
The developments continue to generate discussion across platforms.
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