Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich III has won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Trump initially supported Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom for the seat, but she finished behind Begich in the primary and dropped out of the race. Two years ago, Trump endorsed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and not Begich for Alaska’s sole seat in the House.
But in a social media post Tuesday Trump praised Begich as a successful small businessman who will help enact MAGA policies.
Also Tuesday, Trump seemed to confuse the name of an air base in Afghanistan with the controversy over whether to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.
“We just have the best,” Trump said at a campaign event in Flint, Mich., referring to energy resources. “We have Bagram, in Alaska. They say it might be as big – might be bigger — than all of Saudi Arabia. I got it approved. Ronald Reagan couldn’t do it. Nobody could do it. In their first week they terminated. Check that one out: Bagram.”
About 30 seconds into his discussion on the subject, Trump seemed to realize his mistake and said “ANWR,” loosely linking the Arctic refuge to the U.S. departure from Bagram Air Base.
Trump’s style of speech has drawn attention in the campaign, especially now that he’s the oldest candidate in the race. He often jumps from subject to subject. He insisted Tuesday he doesn’t ramble.
“I give these long, sometimes very complex sentences and paragraphs, but they all come together,” he said.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
