Trump supports Sullivan ahead of midterm elections... Take advantage of Korea investment announcement events

“All of these energy projects are my work, and I worked with Dan Sullivan to make them happen.”

U.S. President Donald Trump actively used the event to announce Korea's large-scale investment plan for the United States on the 30th (local time) as a stage to promote Republican Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, who is running for a third term in the November midterm elections.

Although Korea's investment was key, no Korean government or corporate officials attended the event held in the White House Oval Office that day.

Instead, Republican Alaskan politicians, including Congressman Sullivan, Congressman Nick Begich, and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, and U.S. government figures, including Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnick, filled the seats.

President Trump especially highlighted Rep. Sullivan's role when introducing the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project among Korea's investment projects in the United States.

“This project alone will be one of the largest energy projects in American history and is a tremendous victory for the people of Alaska,” President Trump said.

He emphasized that the Alaska LNG project is "one of the largest energy projects in American history" and will create 12,000 construction jobs and 1,000 operations jobs.

He then praised Senator Sullivan, calling him "a great senator who is fully responsible for this pipeline, the projects we're working on, and the countless jobs we've created."

He also emphasized, “I have listened to his opinions on Alaska issues for a long time,” and added, “He is a great senator not only for Alaska, but also for our country and the world.”

He even mentioned the fact that a candidate with the same name as Rep. Sullivan was running in the election and emphasized Rep. Sullivan's middle initial, 'S'. “Dan S. Sullivan should not be confused with anyone else,” Trump said, adding, “They put up a fake Sullivan.”

In the Alaska Senate election, Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher with the same name as Rep. Sullivan, advanced to the finals. The Republican Party claimed that the Democratic Party was a candidate aimed at confusing voters, but the party has denied this.

After finishing his remarks, President Trump was the first to hand the microphone over to Representative Sullivan. Afterwards, Secretary Rutnick, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Governor Dunleavy, and Representative Begic spoke in turn.

“This is by far the most important project in our state,” said Rep. Sullivan. “It will ensure that our children and grandchildren can stay in Alaska and enjoy a bright and wonderful future.”

The event was held about a month before the midterm elections as the Republican Party is making all-out efforts to secure the Alaska Senate seat.

It was an event to announce Korea's investment plans for the United States, but not a single Korean official attended, and there was no formal thank you to Korea.

The performance of the Alaska LNG project and Rep. Sullivan's election story seemed to be given more weight than the position of Korea, the investor, or specific investment plans.

In particular, as President Trump added strength to the election campaign by directly mentioning Rep. Sullivan's rival candidate with the same name, it is pointed out that Korea's investment announcement event was close to being used as a stage for American domestic politics.