This commentary was originally published in the Juneau Independent and republished here with permission.
There’s a new 15-second ad out that claims “Dan Sullivan always puts Alaska first.” Don’t be fooled. If he hadn’t been putting the interests of President Donald Trump first, more than a few hardcore MAGA Alaskans would have filed to run against him.
I’ll let others debate the ad’s references to Sullivan’s work on improving Medicaid and enacting tax cuts for working families. The bigger problem is how hard he works to stay in good standing with Trump.
That’s been the case for more a year regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine. Now he’s faced with defending Trump’s shifting rationale for starting a war with Iran, and the ignorance and incompetence with which it’s being executed.
Let’s go back to August when Russian President Vladimir Putin met Trump in Anchorage to discuss possible terms for ending the war in Ukraine. Keep in mind that Sullivan believed sanctions on countries purchasing Russian oil was one of the main reasons Putin agreed to the summit.
As we all know, nothing positive came out of it. Instead, Russia escalated its attacks on Ukraine. And Sullivan went from boasting about how Putin was reminded “that Americans are good negotiators” to silently watching Trump waver between acting tough toward Putin and appeasing him.
Now, with the war with Iran causing a spike in oil prices, Trump has given Putin another opportunity to play him for a fool.
About 20% of the world’s crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively shut it down.
Last week, the Trump administration offered “political risk insurance and guarantees” and U.S. Naval escorts for all vessels passing through the Strait. But that didn’t change the calculus for most shipowners, operators and insurers.
That must have frustrated Trump. Because sometime afterwards, he reminded the world how obtuse he is by telling Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade tanker operators “should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts.”
This week, 32 nations of the International Energy Agency unanimously agreed to the largest release of emergency oil stocks in history. However, it won’t have any immediate effect on stabilizing prices.
And after a two-hour phone call with Putin, Trump decided to ease the sanctions on Russian oil. He actually seems to believe Putin “wants to be helpful” in solving our problems in the Middle East.
Those are the same sanctions which Sullivan said brought Putin to the negotiating table in Anchorage. Not only is Trump lifting them without getting anything in return. He’s doing it despite credible evidence that Russian intelligence is helping Iran pinpoint the locations of U.S. warships and military personnel.
What each of those desperate measures indicates is Trump was woefully unprepared for Iran’s ability to interrupt the flow of oil. He either wasn’t paying attention to the military experts who understood that was part of the risk of going to war. Or thought he was smarter than them.
It’s not hard to imagine how Sullivan would have harshly and rightly blasted Joe Biden if any of this happened while he was president.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to convince Alaskans it’s Biden’s fault if the price of gas hits $5 per gallon again.
That’s what Sullivan did four years ago when Putin’s invasion of Ukraine pushed gas prices to record highs. He accused the Biden administration of being “beholden to the ultra-left” and intentionally driving up prices “in order to accelerate the transition” to renewable energy.
And even though the price of gas had dropped 40% by the time Biden left office, last month Sullivan credited Trump’s policies for reducing it by “almost 50%.”
Now he may repackage those false arguments to deflect justified criticisms of Trump. It wouldn’t be the first time he ignored the fact that the oil lease sales offered during Trump’s first term were a total bust. Or revived his propaganda about the 70 executive orders Biden issued to shut down resource development in Alaska.
To paraphrase former Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the best way to show respect for Alaskans is to tell them the truth. Especially in matters of war and peace, Sullivan should be prioritizing that over the partisan instinct to always defend Trump. Even if it means jeopardizing his bid for reelection.
Rich Moniak, Juneau Independent
Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector.
