At a rally in Wasilla on Oct. 13, President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said America’s war with Iran is worth the resulting increased cost of fuel and food for Americans.
“No matter what it is, it’s a small price to pay for stopping them from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said of Iran.
Fuel prices have risen in Alaska and the United States at large since Trump began the Iran war alongside Israel on Feb. 28. According to the latest available state report, heating fuel prices in rural Alaska climbed to an average of $8 per gallon by August, up from $6.49 per gallon in January.
Sullivan has voted 14 times in the U.S. Senate against War Powers Act resolutions that could limit or end American involvement in the Iran war.
Before the current fighting, Sullivan supported the Trump-ordered bombing of Iran last year and has advocated military action against the country.
Speaking in Wasilla, Sullivan said the best way to reduce fuel costs in Alaska is to produce more oil and gas locally, and he said Alaskans should reelect him because national Democrats oppose oil and gas development.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the conflict in the Middle East is temporary. The true forever war is the national Democrats’ war against Alaska oil and gas and our jobs. That’s the forever war,” he said.
Sullivan, the incumbent Republican, is in a close race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, who has criticized Trump for starting the war and Sullivan for supporting it.
“We should be standing up to the president, and there have been many times where the Senate and the House have said no to the administration on wars. Where is our backbone?” Peltola said during an Anchorage forum on Oct. 8.
In a visit to Fairbanks earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance offered comments similar to the ones that Trump made last week, including statements to the effect that Democrats are the enemy.
Peltola said it’s outrageous to call half of Americans an enemy.
“No American is my enemy. … No Republican is my enemy. No Democrat is my enemy. No Alaskan who is independent, nonpartisan, undeclared is my enemy,” Peltola said.
With Sullivan remaining behind in Alaska, Trump repeated his Wasilla message at rallies in Arizona and Montana the following day. The president has been campaigning nationwide in an effort to boost Republican candidates in the November general election.
Yereth Rosen contributed reporting from Anchorage. The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization, online at Alaskabeacon.com.
