Moments before boarding Air Force Two for his first trip to Alaska, Vice President JD Vance spoke with reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Oct. 5. He is scheduled to speak this evening at Fairbanks International Airport during a political rally for U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is running against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.
He shared some parting thoughts on what he called Peltola’s ‘radical’ leftwing voting record and the proposed Alaska gas pipeline project.
Vance is traveling with his wife Usha and a couple of their kids.
“Looking forward to going to Alaska and campaigning for Dan Sullivan, a really great guy, a Marine Corps veteran, and just somebody we really, really need to keep in the United States Senate,” Vance told reporters. “As you probably saw, Usha and a couple of the kids are joining. This is Usha’s 50th state, which is why we are bringing a 9-week-old baby on a 7½-hour flight to Alaska. So, if I give a speech tonight and I look haggard and stressed out, that’s exactly why. But it’s good to see you guys, and I think we’ll have fun.”
Vance was asked about Peltola claim that she does not support biological men being able to compete in women’s sports even though she voted in favor of this while serving in the U.S. House.
“Well, I think what’s going on with so many of these candidates is they realize that the woke era — all the crazy stuff the Democrats had to say and do from, call it, 2018 to 2022 — the voters don’t like it,” Vance responded. “So now they’re actually confronting voters and they’re trying to run away from their record. And I would just say to Alaska voters: don’t judge Mary by what she’s saying in the final six weeks of the Senate campaign. You’ve got to judge her by what she actually did. And the reality is that she did support a lot of radical Democrat policies, including men in women’s sports. When her voting record was on the line, what she did is that she supported radical left policies.”
Another reporter asked Vance why Sullivan’s Senate seat is in play this year.
“In very deep red years, Alaska is competitive,” Vance noted. “In very deep blue years, Alaska is still competitive. So, I think it’s just a reality of the politics of the state. They obviously have the kind of weird ranked-choice voting system that I don’t fully understand. But, you know, I think that whether this was going to be a blue-wave or a red-wave year, you’re going to have a competitive Senate race in Alaska. That’s been true historically, and I suspect it’s going to be true this year too.”
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With regard to the proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline, Vance was asked whether Alaskans should trust that the pipeline will get built, given the fact that South Korea has stated that its $54 billion investment in the project is not yet a finalized deal.
“Well, the pipeline is something that we really want to see happen and a lot of our Asian friends want to see happen as well,” Vance observed. “It’s not just the South Koreans. The Japanese would love to see this pipeline. A lot of the East Asian economies that have suffered from higher natural gas prices would love to see more American gas flowing into their economy. I think it’s something that’s going to happen. Obviously, you still got to work out some of the details, and the South Koreans have spoken to that. But when there’s a demand for this stuff, and there really is strong demand for American natural gas, I think we’re going to be able to get it done.”
Vance is slated to begin speaking in Alaska at around 6:20 p.m. tonight. Click here to reserve a spot at the event.
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