WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said South Korea plans to invest about $54 billion in a natural gas project in Alaska, an announcement he made in the Oval Office on Wednesday flanked by a Republican senator who has found himself in a tough reelection race in the state.
It was the second time in three days that the president elevated Senate candidates in states where Trump won comfortably each time he has run for president — but where Republicans
are now in surprisingly competitive races just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. On Monday, Trump made a similar-styled announcement about a massive steel plant in Iowa.
On Wednesday, Trump repeatedly praised Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a two-term senator and long-time advocate for the Alaska natural gas project who is facing a competitive challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman.
“He’s got my ear, and he’s had my ear for a long time on Alaska," Trump said of Sullivan, adding that "all these energy projects are all mine, and I got ’em done working with Dan Sullivan.”
It was not immediately clear how quickly South Korea's government would advance funding for the project, which comes from pledges made as part of a 2025 trade deal with South Korea, which included promises of $350 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean cars, auto parts and other products.
The project consists of an 807-mile (1,300-kilometer) natural gas pipeline connecting Alaska’s North Slope to a liquefied natural gas export terminal in southern Alaska and the White House said it would eventually reduce energy costs for the state’s residents.
“Mr. President, this one is huge for Alaska,” Sullivan said, adding that he’d been working on it “relentlessly.”
The push to deliver big projects in areas where GOP candidates could use a boost comes as Trump's approval ratings have sunk ahead of the midterm elections.
Even Trump himself has begun acknowledging that Republicans could face an uphill climb in their push to retain control of both chambers of Congress after November. “We have to turn this around,” he said on Wednesday, suggesting his administration hasn't done enough to promote its accomplishments.
“I’ve done a very bad job of explaining," the president said during an earlier event in the White House East Room. He's promised to try to rectify that by spending much of the next month on the road campaigning. He begins that swing on Thursday with trips to Texas and Alabama, followed by Ohio on Saturday and Nebraska on Monday. All four are normally solidly red states.
On Monday, Trump announced plans for a $15 billion steel plant to be built by a Minnesota company owned by an Indian industrial conglomerate in Iowa, where Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson is in a close U.S. Senate contest with Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek for the seat being vacated by retiring two-term Republican Joni Ernst. Hinson spoke in the Oval Office during the announcement.
Democrats need to gain a net of four seats in the 100-member Senate to overtake Republicans and gain a majority, and the seats in Iowa and Alaska are among those they're targeting.
Trump's announcements come as voters express concern about near-record fuel prices related to the unresolved war with Iran and as majority Republicans in Congress are facing voters dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the economy.
In a late-July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only about one-third of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, and about 7 in 10 described the economy as poor.
___
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
