Jet-setting Jill heads to Bethel, as President Biden refuels in Anchorage on way to Japan

By
Suzanne Downing
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21

A Temporary Flight Restriction called for the Anchorage airspace by the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday was violated at least three times by small-plane pilots, Must Read Alaska learned.

Fighter jets were scrambled to check on at least one of the errant pilots, as Air Force Two landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, before First Lady Jill Biden continued on to Bethel for what has all the looks of a campaign stop that was thinly disguised as a rally for broadband for rural Alaska, part of infrastructure spending.

Also, separately, President Joe Biden’s Air Force One stopped in Anchorage on its way to Japan, where he was scheduled for a G-7 Summit meeting, which he has ended up cutting short. Onboard with him were Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The president’s jet landed at about 2:24 pm at JBER, refueled, and was gone by 4 pm. Although he will meet with leaders in Japan, he will not complete the second part of his trip, which included Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Jill Biden traveled on a Boeing C-32A, similar to a Boeing 757; later Wednesday, the First Lady disembarked in Bethel in chilly mid-30s weather with a brisk wind. At the school gymnasium, a sign welcomed her and much of the community had turned out to do the same, as she appeared with Rep. Mary Peltola and Interior Sec. Deb Haaland.

Sen. Dan Sullivan issued a statement regarding the visit:

“While I’m pleased to see Biden administration officials visiting Bethel and our rural communities to promote federal broadband investments authorized by Congress, I hope the First Lady and Secretary Haaland take the time to listen to Alaskans who have been harmed by the Biden administration’s policies,” Senator Sullivan said. “Unfortunately, that was not the case the last time Secretary Haaland visited Alaska and met with residents in King Cove as well as with Alaska Native Vietnam Veterans. Following that trip, Secretary Haaland not only further delayed and complicated land allotments that Alaska Native Vietnam Veterans were promised under the law, but also proceeded to reverse course on a land exchange that would have provided King Cove residents life-saving medical care access.

“In total, there have been 48 executive orders and actions singularly targeting Alaska under the Biden administration. Many of these were done without any consultation from Alaskans. The Biden administration needs to do better and listen to the people of Alaska,” Sullivan said.

The last time Jill Biden was in Alaska was for a refueling stop in 2021 on the way to the Tokyo Olympics. This is the first visit to Bethel by a wife of a sitting president.

21 COMMENTS

  2. Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night. . . Come on, folks! Don’t let the sun blind you to the facts here! Peltola is a deep state want to be, playing all their cards. . . And not one of them in favor of red-blooded Alaskans!

  4. The Biden crime machine visits the 49th state, for what? Not electoral votes, which are few. This is a manuever by climate action clowns and a big attempt to regulate federal lands in a way that eliminates future resource development. The Bidens are enjoying the government’s huge fuel-guzzling jets and all other means of carbon fuel transportation while telling citizens that they are going to phase out traditional energy sources, except for themselves. The entire Biden family network has used our country to generate large sums of money for themselves, while ruining our country with atrocious immigration policies, a nose-dive economy, out of control crime, fentanyl coming across the border in massive quantities, indoctrination of our young people, and the use of our own government agencies to sabotage and criminalize political opposition. This is a mafia family that has turned our country upside down. The Bidens and their ilk must go, sooner rather than later. Our country depends on it.

  6. Funny as several GOP (Grifters , opportunists and prostitutes ) voted for nomination of Debra Haaland ! Care to know which ones ! Might surprise you Alaskans ! Keep in mind these are the absolute enemies to our wonderful state !

    • I told Lisa not to vote for Haaland. It’s ruining my personal reputation with the Big Oil Companies. All of Lisa’s cronyism with the Biden’s has forced Nancy and I to move on to Wrangell. Even liberal Petersburg had enough of us. Thank God, the ferries are still in service. Haaland wants to get rid of them too and put us in canoes.

      • This is the end of the road for us, Frankie. Wrangell, Alaska. Limited ferry service and no WalMart. I hope no one recognizes us here. I still see Kelly Tshibaka signs in front of homes. This is not what I had in mind for retirement and old age.

  7. All this so the bush communities can spend more time on Netflix and YouTube. While the rest don’t have safe water, transportation, energy or heating and live on sandbars that we have to rescue every spring.

    Great use of time and money 🙁

  8. Dr. Jill is participating in elder abuse allowing/pushing (?) grandpa into running for a second term.

  9. I read the Japanese are getting damn tired of Rahm Emmanuel (ambassador to Japan) meddling openly in their internal politics pushing the alphabet agenda.

    Hopefully they give grandpa an earful

  12. Don’t fool yourselves, this is simply a stop over to collect “extortion” bribe money from Donlin Gold.

  14. Great time of year to hit Bethel! Maybe the new broad band will help with new flush toilets ! Let the honey buckets fly ! You do not want to be in a village the first day it hits 70F ! Timing is about perfect for the winters
    Effluent all over the front yard ( usually at the bottom of steps ) ! Go Jill Biden

    • Here it is: Thank you, Mary. You’ve dedicated your life to lifting up the voices we all need to hear. From Bethel to Washington D.C., you’ve never stopped fighting for all Alaskans.

      First Lady Dunleavy, I am honored to be here with you. Thank you for welcoming me back to your beautiful state and to Bethel.

      Secretary Haaland, you work every day to protect our environment, support our families, and work with tribes across the country.

      I’d also like to thank Mayor Henderson, Ana, Vivian, and Walter for the work you do to lift up communities in the Y-K Delta.

      And congratulations to the Bethel High School seniors graduating this week!

      Two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, where I met Valerie Davidson—the president of the consortium and a daughter of Bethel. And through Valerie and her team, I got to know this incredible state a bit better.

      I saw how the connections here run deep—the bonds of family and friendship, of tribes and traditions. I saw how acutely you are connected to the natural world around you—from the migration of salmon to the cycles of the sun. And yet, I also learned about the challenges you face—and how communities in rural areas like this one often feel unseen and unappreciated for their unique contributions to our country.

      I took those stories home with me. I told them to my husband, Joe. And he listened.

      That’s why he and his administration worked with your representatives in Congress to invest over 100 million dollars in the Y-K Delta, and even more statewide, so you can bring affordable, faster, more reliable internet to Alaska. It’s a part of his Investing in America agenda and how he’s rebuilding our country from the bottom up and the middle out.

      This is one of the largest tribal broadband expansions in the country. With high-speed internet, you’ll have better access to critical health care, new educational tools, and remote job opportunities. It will change lives. It will save lives.

      And it will help make our world a little brighter, a little more beautiful.

      Because it’s not just about what you get from this, it’s also about what you are able to give. To Alaska. To the United States. To the people around the globe. As much as you need broadband, we need your wisdom, your knowledge, your experiences. And because of this project you will be able to share them.

      The funding is going directly to Bethel Native Corporation because you know what your communities need.

      And I love the name that you’ve chosen for it.

      An Airraq isn’t the story itself. It’s a tool that helps us tell it. A simple string that becomes a thing of beauty with the creativity and joy and hope we bring to it. The connections of this community are already deep. But with Airraq, you will be able to bring them to life in new ways.

      During my last visit to this great state, Valerie gave me a Yupik name—the name of her grandmother. It meant so much to me. And she told me of something her grandmother used to say: “When you lead with love, you never stand alone.”

      I feel so much love in this community today. Love for Bethel and the people who make it home—for the language and heritage that has shaped you— for the generations who stand behind you and live on in your hearts— for the young people who are dreaming a brighter future for us all.

      And you are not alone in this work. Joe, Secretary Haaland, and I—along with the rest of the Biden-Harris administration—stand beside you, today, tomorrow, and always.

      Quyana. Thank you.

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