American President Donald Trump again announced foreign investments in states where Republican candidates for November midterm elections face close disputes, calling on Wednesday to the White House a senator from Alaska.
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01/10/2026
by
Lusa
A just over a month from the decisive mid-term elections and after a similar announcement on Monday in the Oval Office, about a huge steel factory in Iowa, Trump today accounted for an investment of around 54 billion dollars (47.6 billion euros) in Alaska's natural gas export, a project long supported by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who faces a difficult re-election in the state.
Sided by Sullivan, Trump stated that the Republican Senator of Alaska has had his "care for a long time".
“ All these energy projects are mine, and I realized them working with Dan Sullivan ", stressed the Republican President, who fights to keep control of the two chambers of Congress in mid-November.
As announced, the investment can amount to US$200 billion (176.5 billion) and stems from commitments made under a trade agreement with South Korea, which included the promise of US$350 billion in projects in the country in exchange for the reduction of US tariffs on cars, car parts and other Seoul products.
“In our trade agreement with South Korea, they have to invest hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump stressed.
“ To do so, I have reduced its tariffs to 15%. But they paid to get this reduction (...). And part of that money is being allocated to this project ", it went ahead.
Sullivan, who is in a tight electoral dispute against Democrat Mary Peltola, magnified the project by presenting it as “large” for the state of the northwest coast, neighbouring Russia.
“ The sky is the limit when we realize this project,” Sullivan said about the 1,300-mile pipeline linking the North Slope region in Alaska to a liquefied natural gas terminal in the south of the state, where it will be exported by ship to Asia, the main consumer market.
The project generated criticism — especially from the defenders of biodiversity — and uncertainties about its implementation due to cost problems and economic viability issues that hindered its progress.
According to the US authorities, the construction of the gas pipeline will take three years and exports of liquefied natural gas will begin two years later — although this depends on obtaining full funding.
The effort to carry out large projects in areas where Republican candidates need a boost occurs at a time when Trump's approval rates fell to historically low levels on the eve of the elections.
Trump announced the steel investment in Iowa by an Indian industrial group flanked by Republican congressman Ashley Hinson, who disputes a seat in the Senate for this state with Democrat Josh Turek in the fight for the succession of Republican Joni Ernst.
Alaska and Iowa — states where Trump won loosely in all his presidential applications — are among those where Democrats seek to win seats in the Senate currently occupied by Republicans in mid-term elections.
Democrats need to achieve a net balance of four seats in the Senate, of 100 members, to overcome the Republicans and get the majority, in a context of high discontent with rising fuel prices.
Even Trump began to recognize that Republicans may face a difficult battle to maintain control of both chambers of Congress after November, suggesting that this is due to the fact that their administration did not disclose their achievements sufficiently.
“ I haven’t been good at explaining this,” the President said at an event in the White House before the investment announcement in Alaska.
Trump promised to correct the situation by spending much of the next 30 days traveling and campaigning for the mid-term elections — although he will start this series of trips across Texas, Alabama, Ohio and Nebraska, states that traditionally firmly support Republicans.