On October 13, 2026, President Donald Trump addressed a large Republican rally at the Menard Sport Center in Wasilla, focusing heavily on resource development, energy infrastructure, national security, and economic gains. The President’s visit was a historic moment, marking the first time a U.S. President has visited the Mat-Su Valley since Alaska statehood.
Pre-rally comments
Before the start of the rally, Must Read Alaska talked with the 2026 Republican candidates for Governor Bernadette Wilson, Treg Taylor, and Dave Bronson as well as State Representative and candidate for Alaska Senate Frank Tomaszewski.
“You know, it’s a great day for Alaska. We’re excited to have him. He has done more for Alaska than I think any other president in recent history, and I look forward to continuing to work right alongside him,” commented Wilson. President Trump’s announced his endorsement of Wilson, the top primary vote-getter, on social media and during his rally speech.
“I’m very pleased that the leader of the free world is here,” commented Bronson. “He’s done so much in the state. And I’m just kind of hoping maybe as a little bonus, he will make another great announcement about a resource project or something that’s good for the economics of the state. This president, I think— in fact I know— is the best president in the history of the country [and] this state. He’s done so much work. And I’m just tickled that he’s here.”
“It’s such an honor to have President Trump here in Alaska, supporting Dan Sullivan. It’s so important that we re-elect our senator,” said Taylor. “It’s an honor to have Trump here because he’s been the best president that Alaska has ever had. He’s the first president to understand our potential with our vast resources with our Arctic location, and so it’s a real honor to have him because he has done so much to move Alaska forward.”
“It’s great to have the President come and show his support for our Senator and our Congressman, it’s an amazing event,” said Alaska Rep. Tomaszewski. “It really puts Alaska on the map. You know, it’s not every day that a Vice President or a President comes to Alaska, but here we’ve had it in less than two weeks. It’s been an amazing time for Alaska.”
When asked what he would say to voters to encourage turnout, Tomaszewski said, “I would say, don’t look at the negativity that we’re seeing. We are seeing so many negative ads. It’s really disheartening, but we have to look to the future and vote your values. You really need to be part of the process and vote your values and exercise the right to vote, because it is so important for the direction of our state and the direction of our nation.”
Alaska leaders speak
The rally began with a prayer focused on humility, repentance, and protection for leaders, families, and the nation. Alaska Republican Party Chair Carmela Warfield, Governor Mike Dunleavy, U.S. Representative Nick Begich, and Senator Dan Sullivan gave speeches leading up to President Trump’s arrival.
Warfield emphasized voter turnout as the key, challenging everyone to pledge to get out and vote in November and to encourage five friends or family members to do the same. Governor Dunleavy highlighted the attention the Trump administration has given to the Alaska LNG project, calling Trump “the best President ever in the history of the state of Alaska.”
Rep. Begich and Sen. Sullivan highlighted their work to open Alaska after the Biden-era lock down, drive resource development, cut taxes such as taxes on tips and social security, reduce government regulations, and make the federal government keep its promises to Alaskans.
In an exclusive interview with Must Read Alaska, U.S. Rep. Begich commented on the Alaska delegation’s work benefitting Alaska: “We’ve done an incredible job because we have an incredible team, both in the House and in the Senate. We were able to move legislation that’s been on the docket for decades in some cases. Opening up NPR-A… ANWR… Cook Inlet. 30 million acres of mandated lease sales over the next 10 years, and more revenue coming to the state of Alaska from those lease sales than has ever come to the state of Alaska with a historic 70% of that revenue staying in the state to benefit Alaskans, keeping tax pressures low, making sure we have money to invest in our schools, making sure we have money to invest in our infrastructure. This is the moment that we’ve been talking about for years. The renaissance of Alaska is here.”
Senator Dan Sullivan provided comment to the media, describing America’s political struggle as “the one forever war… the Democrats’ forever war against Alaska.” He said, “Whenever the Democrats get power, they come after Alaska… The most important thing to reduce energy costs is to produce more Alaskan energy by and for Alaskans. We are doing that with Republican policies. We are doing that with the President and his team. If the Democrats ever regain power, they’ll do what they always do. They will come for Alaska. They will shut us down. They will kill thousands of projects.”
President Trump speaks
Alaskans welcomed Trump on stage around 4:30 PM with thunderous applause. Trump voiced his support for the re-election of Senator Dan S. Sullivan, calling him “the real Dan” as opposed to the Dan Sullivan from Petersburg who will also appear on the ballot in November. He warned that Democrats— who he called “Dumb-ocrats” throughout his speech— had convinced Petersburg Dan to run in order to confuse voters, although Petersburg Dan denies this as his motivation for running. Trump expressed disdain of the ranked-choice voting system that allowed Petersburg Dan to advance to the general election ballot despite receiving only 2.4% of the primary vote, which Trump said was still “too much.” He called ranked-choice voting “damn bad cheating,” encouraging Alaskans to end it by voting Yes on ballot measure 2.
He also emphasized the importance of showing up to vote: “So vote early, vote by mail, or vote on Election Day, November 3rd.” According to Trump, a Democratic victory would “destroy everything that we’ve built” in Alaska, including remarkable deals bringing new opportunities for Alaskans.
Two weeks prior to the rally, Trump had announced, “a historic federal project to finally build the 800-mile-long Alaska LNG gasline,” which he called “the largest energy infrastructure project in the history of Alaska” and “one of the largest in the history of the United States of America.” Trump said “we got it done” and that “every single permit that you need” is available, allowing work to start “tonight.” He projected “over 13,000 jobs” and savings of “more than $2,000 a year” (or higher) for a typical Alaska household. He also announced a deal with Taiwan, saying Taiwan has agreed to take “about 30% of the gas coming off the pipeline for the next 20 years,” and invest $4.4 billion in the project on top of the “$50 billion already committed by South Korea.”
Additional points on resource development included 30 million acres of lease sales over ten years, 70 percent of federal royalties staying in the state, and opening of areas previously blocked. He also talked about construction finally beginning on the King Cove Road despite environmentalists’ attempts to prevent the road from being built. Trump said the deals are “the best deals ever made for any state at any time.”
Other economic highlights included a historic return of domestic manufacturing with $21 trillion invested, protection of Social Security, and combatting fraud.
On Iran, he stated the country had been “two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon,” claiming billion-dollar cash deliveries under Obama had supplied terrorists with funds to build weapons rather than going toward the humanitarian aid it was intended for. However, Trump said the current conditions after U.S. military action has left Iran with no money, no anti-aircraft, and no nuclear capability, while oil continues to move through the Strait of Hormuz. He called the temporary high energy prices a “small price to pay” to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon, a threat Trump says has been definitively thwarted. He expects prices to fall quickly.
On cultural issues, he said “we will keep men out of women’s sports” and “we will not let them cut your children.” He discussed drug prices falling dramatically and his administration working to “make American healthy again.” He also highlighted his work to secure America’s borders and pass the SAVE America Act to protect America’s elections, claiming even the majority of Democratic voters support the Act, but Democratic politicians will not.
He criticized Democrat candidate for Senate Mary Peltola for failing to show up to many votes, and when she did show up, voting to restrict resource development, and grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. Liberal congressional candidate Bill Hill was criticized as a threat to schools, oil, and jobs.
Trump asked Alaskans to re-elect Republicans Senator Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich, promising every American adult a $5,000 dividend check if Republicans retain power in the Legislature. The dividend would be a direct payout to American citizens from the immense revenues pouring in from Trump’s tariff policies. He also said Republicans will work to secure America’s borders and elections and restore the death penalty for heinous crimes, including killing police officers. He closed with saying he along with other Republican leaders will make America “powerful again,” “strong again,” “healthy again,” “proud again,” ending with his signature slogan: “make America great again.”
