In a Times Radio interview, Alaska State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, painted a picture for the audience of an Alaska that bears little resemblance to the one that is revealed in recent election results.

He told the British audience that “Alaskans do not like Trump” — a statement the interviewer did not question, even though Donald Trump won Alaska in November by 54.5% of the vote, avoiding the ranked-choice runoff entirely. Kamala Harris received 41.4% of the vote, meaning Trump won by an over 13% margin. He outperformed his national election results of 49.9% by over 5.5% in Alaska.

Asked about the “Stand Up Alaska” protest planned for the summit, Wielechowski said he expects a large protest and he described the state as “politically… a purple state” with a “Republican leaning” but “a little more Democratic in recent years.” He pointed to the bipartisan state legislature and claimed, “the one thing we all agree on… is that we do not support the Russian aggression in Ukraine.”

He predicted the demonstration would be “large by Alaska standards,” citing anger over Russia’s invasion and over “a lot of things [Trump] has done,” including alleged losses of health care for “tens of thousands” of Alaskans and the removal of “hundreds of millions of dollars in renewable energy projects.” None of these claims were challenged by the interviewer, who threw the senator softball questions. Wielechowski wore his IBEW union-label golf shirt.

The Times also allowed Wielechowski to venture into what some listeners might consider the absurd: When asked if he thought Putin might try to take Alaska back, the senator replied that Alaskans are “well-armed” and would “fight aggression” — as though hunting rifles might go up against a Russian MiG firing missiles.

Not mentioned in the broadcast was the fact that Democrats make up only a small fraction of Alaska’s registered voters, and Wielechowski’s political views represent a clear minority in the state. Only 12% of registered Alaska voters are members of the Alaska Democratic Party. Yet, in the Times of London’s telling, Wielechowski was the voice of Alaska.

The full Times Radio interview can be heard here.

Alaskans can expect more of this as the global media focuses on Alaska in advance of Friday’s summit between Trump and Putin, which is expected to be at JBER. Alaskans can expect this type of spin to continue at warp speed this week.