Nov. 25, 2025
Governor Mike Dunleavy on Trump, Alaska’s Future, Alaska LNG and the Legacy of Charlie Kirk
Host John Quick sits down with Governor Mike Dunleavy for a powerful and wide-ranging conversation on Stories Worth Hearing.
In this episode, Governor Dunleavy opens up about his genuine friendship with President Donald Trump, why Trump has such a deep love for Alaska, and how their relationship continues to deliver meaningful benefits for Alaskans.
John and the Governor also dig into the legacy of Charlie Kirk, the impact he has had on young people across the country, and why Governor Dunleavy issued an official proclamation declaring Charlie Kirk Day in Alaska.
The conversation goes even deeper as they discuss what keeps the Governor grounded, a question he says no one has ever asked him before. His answer reveals a humble and thoughtful side of his leadership.
They also cover the future of the Alaska LNG project, including how Governor Dunleavy’s private-sector-driven approach differs from previous administrations that pushed for a state-led model. The Governor explains why he believes private leadership gives Alaska the best chance to finally bring this massive project to life.
Governor Dunleavy is a humble and kind leader, and this episode highlights exactly why so many Alaskans respect him. You won’t want to miss it.
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Well, one of my favorite
governors in the history of
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politics inside been doing
politics.
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Governor Mike Dunleavy, welcome
to my show.
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Excited to have you on.
You know, it's, it's great to be
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on John.
Thanks for having me.
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Well, it's fun.
It's fun to sit back and see
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some of the cool things that
you've done over the years.
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I think one of the things that
is really intriguing to me is
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you have a really great
relationship with President
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Trump.
And I think that that does
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really well for the state of
Alaska.
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Can you talk to me a little bit
about why that's been so
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important for you?
And maybe some of the key
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differences is of like having
the Joe Biden in and then
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getting Trump back into office
has been good for Alaska.
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So obviously I support President
Trump and there's reason there's
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there's clear reasons for that.
He's been fantastic for Alaska.
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Trump one point O he began the
process of creating all kinds of
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opportunities for Alaska.
NPR Excuse me, Anwar reopening
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the Tongass National Forest,
giving us a presidential permit
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to have a railroad go across the
border with Canada.
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He really worked on the King
Cove Rd.
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He was very interested in giving
Alaska the opportunities that we
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had hoped we had gotten at
statehood when we became a
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state.
And so there's been a lot of
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other administrations.
I'm mostly Democrat, but some
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Republicans too, that have
either ignored Alaska or have
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actually worked against Alaska.
President Trump is on the exact
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opposite.
And as a resource state, as a
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state that came into the union
having to develop its resources
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in order to pay for itself,
President Trump was fantastic.
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That's one O 2 point O is even
better.
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He issued an executive order for
the state of Alaska.
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We're the only state that's got
an executive order.
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He mentioned our gas line
project and his State of the
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Union speech.
The list goes on.
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And his he's instructed his
staff, his secretaries and
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others to work directly with
Alaska to work with us to get
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some of these things across the
finish line reopened, Anwar is
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reopening.
The Tongas got the King Cove Rd.
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land title situation
straightened out so they can get
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a road and PRA is going to be
back online.
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Ambler Rd.
LDLNG pipeline, He's behind
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100%, all for what I think are
very good reasons for the state
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of Alaska.
Again, opportunities to help the
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state, help the country and help
our Asian allies.
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And do you think I mean, the
obvious answer to me is yes, but
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having a friendship with Trump
is helpful to Alaska?
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Yeah, You know, John, there's a
thing that's not often spoken
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about in politics.
And I I term it the cringe
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factor, meaning two politicians
are walking down a hall or
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street and they see each other.
Do they cringe when they see
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each other or do they not?
For me, there's no cringe with
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President Trump.
We, we get along.
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We like each other.
I really think what he's doing
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is, is terrific for Alaska.
He sees what we're doing up here
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is also in line with what his
vision is for America.
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And so we, we, we get along.
And it, it is important because
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you've developed AI think a
level of trust the president's
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the, the most powerful human
being in the universe right now.
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And so being able to have a
conversation with him, I'll give
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you an example.
And, and this, it's phenomenal.
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We were outside the Alaska
Airlines Center when the
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individuals were coming in from
Typhoon Halong, from the
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devastated villages out in the
Yukon Delta.
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And I was standing in front of
the Alaska Airlines Center and I
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sent the president on my phone.
I texted him a picture and it
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was about 9:00 our time.
So East Coast, he's about 1:00
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in the morning.
He texts right back.
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He goes tell the people we'll
ask that I love them, hear about
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them or we're going to help
them.
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I mean, how often does that
happen, right?
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And so I was on a plane getting
ready to leave about a week or
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two later was actually Doug
Bergum, the Department of
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Interior.
His phone number came up on my
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phone.
I couldn't get to the phone in
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time before we lost connection.
So when I landed, I listened to
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the phone and it was Doug's
number, but it was the president
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saying, hey, congratulations,
Mike.
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You know, we got the Ambler Rd.
going and it's going to be great
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things for Alaska.
So appreciate the president.
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President appreciates what what
he's doing for Alaska.
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Look at John, we're only 740,000
people the size of a county at
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the top of the world.
We only have three electoral
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votes.
You know, we're we're not, we're
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not a Texas or California.
Yeah, he gives us a lot of
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attention.
And so for that I'm grateful.
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That's pretty awesome.
Let's talk a little bit about
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this Alaska Day that happened.
Doug was there.
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I think both the senators, Nick
Beige, they, they signed this,
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you know, document that was
going to basically unleash
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Alaska's energy.
You know, we've heard that.
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We've seen those rumblings in
the paper before, and you've
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kind of been the governor to not
talk about it unless something's
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actually happening, which I
really appreciate.
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Do you think something is
actually happening with, let's
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say, specifically LNG or some of
these other projects?
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Yeah.
So LNG absolutely.
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And I'll give you I'll give you
some reasons why I believe it's
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moving, right.
I'm not going to do backflips,
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which would be dangerous in any
day, but for me to do a
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backflip.
But I'm not going to do
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backflips until the pipe is on
the ground.
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Then we get a first Weld.
But let me tell you where we're
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at.
So Baker Hughes, which is a huge
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international firm that deals
with things such as natural gas
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pipelines and LNG, they signed
on to actually start the process
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of putting together the
components for things like
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compressors and so forth.
They're also interested, I
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believe, in being an investor in
this project.
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They would never do that if they
thought that this didn't have a
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pretty good chance.
And So what people need to watch
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is December Glenfarn, who's the
private concern that is running
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the pipeline process and is
going to be the major dealer in
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this whole thing.
They're going to finish up their
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feed process and what feed is
front end engineering and
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design.
It's really for the pipe.
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It's an update.
It's an it's a it's an updated
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cost.
Last cost update was done in
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2015.
It's now 2 thousand 2526 we're
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going to be going into.
So they got to update the the
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cost of that pipe.
They're feeling really good
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about where they're at now.
They've had contractors look at
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the pipe.
They've had contractors on the
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on the pipeline right away,
actually physically going down
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from Prudhoe all the way down to
the Kiski engineers looking at
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it.
And they feel that their study
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in the end in December will come
out that the pipe is coming in
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within a price range that's
going to make things economical.
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When that happens, January is
when they all announce FID,
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economic FID be able to start to
purchase pipe.
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And so they believe that
everything works out,
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everything's going the way it
should go.
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January, they'll announce
they're going to purchase pipe
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and we should have pipe on the
ground in August of 26, which
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means we're going to have a
pipeline.
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So what those two, those two
time periods of December and
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January are absolutely crucial
and will tell us a whole lot
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about the future of this
pipeline.
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That's huge.
You know, I look back and I look
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at Governor Walker's strategy
philosophy and your strategy
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philosophy and philosophy really
completely different
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philosophies.
I think under Walker it's more
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state LED.
State ran, you had countries and
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they're coming in and running
the the man camps.
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Yours is private LED, you know,
state still involved, but more
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private LED.
Do you think that there is
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having the state, having the
state kind of back out of it was
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a good, was a good choice and
you know being the lead person
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and owning the whole thing.
You know, that's a great
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question, right?
And I'm not not one of those
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politicians that takes credit
for things that I have not been
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part of.
And oftentimes I'm criticized by
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my supporters for not taking
enough credit.
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But I'll say this, this may
shock people.
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A lot of governors have tried to
push this pipeline, right?
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And they they all wanted a
pipeline for Alaska, which I
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appreciate.
I mean, it goes back, it goes
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back decades and decades and
decades.
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Frank Murkowski, Sarah Palin,
Sean Parnell and Governor
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Walker.
Now Governor Walker's approach
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and you got to understand all of
these things in these moments of
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time.
It's it's a different time
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period as to what's happening
internationally too.
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At the same at the time we're
trying to move this gas line.
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But I give all the governors a
lot of credit.
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I give, I give Governor Walker
credit for trying to move the
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pipeline in the manner that he
did help bring attention to it,
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especially with our Asian allies
and and with China, which is not
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necessarily an ally of America,
but nonetheless.
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So what's the point?
It's good to know that we've had
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a number of administrations
trying to get this across the
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finish line.
Things are different now.
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The environment worldwide is
different.
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Gas with regard to AI, gas with
regard to electrification of the
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world, just a lot of gas being
used in a whole host of areas,
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both for economic reasons of
political, geopolitical reasons.
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So Long story short, I thought
the approach that we took was
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the best approach because it's
got to be economical and who's
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going to determine if it's
economical is our private
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enterprise.
It's private enterprise.
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And so we were able to do that.
And eventually we had a
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conversation with Glenn Farn
about a year and a half two
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years ago and they became very
interested in this process by
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breaking the the the concept up
into three parts, the pipeline,
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the liquefaction export plant
and the gas conditioning plant
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on the slope.
And everything seems to be
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working right now.
Again, crossing my fingers I'm
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not going to have a party or
parade until the pipes ordered
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and we start to Weld that up.
But things are looking pretty
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good so far.
Yeah, my good friend Charlie
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Pierce always tells me don't get
excited till they start ordering
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the pipe.
So yes, I think that that's a
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good philosophy to take.
Let's pivot now.
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You just did a Charlie Kirk day.
I believe you signed it into
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fruition for the state of
Alaska.
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Talk to me a little bit about
what that means to you.
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I know what it means to me, but
I think it's important that his
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legacy not be forgotten.
He was the guy that showed up to
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college campuses and let anybody
debate him, regardless of how
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crazy they were.
And I think, man, it's a lost
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art.
And I think I'd hate to see that
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be even more lost because he was
tragically murdered.
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So talk to me a little bit about
Charlie Kirk Day for Alaska.
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Yeah, so I mean, you've had a
number of folks in the history
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here in in America, across the
world, but here specifically in
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America.
I mean, I'll, I'll start in the
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60s with, you know, even people
like Malcolm X, for example, was
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assassinated in New York City
because of his views on certain
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things.
And then, of course, our
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president, President Kennedy was
assassinated.
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Martin Luther King, similar
reasons.
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And Charlie Kirk, you know, the
thing about Charlie Kirk, I
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think that I think Charlie
Kirk's assassination in some
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respects bothered me than than
than than other assassinations.
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They're all terrible.
It's, it's an awful way for
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anyone to express their dislike
or disagreement with somebody by
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by doing the ultimate act of, of
crossing that line and pulling a
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trigger.
Charlie Kirk, in my opinion, you
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know, he certainly is politics
certainly laid on the right side
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of the spectrum, as we would
say.
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But I don't think anyone could
argue with him, with him or
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anyone that supported Charlie
Kirk in terms of the 1st
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Amendment.
You got to be able to have a
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conversation.
And he often said this.
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If you don't have a
conversation, this is when
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trouble trouble happens.
And ironically, that he was
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killed for that very reason.
And you know, the concept of a
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martyr is somebody that dies for
cause in, in essence, Charlie
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died for the First Amendment.
We may not agree with him.
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Some of some people in America
may not agree with his positions
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on things like transgender
folks, the way to run
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government, politics, etcetera.
But nonetheless, he's a young
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man, died at prime of his, in
prime of his life.
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He was married, he had kids, but
he died for a reason I think
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every single American should
support.
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We don't have the 1st Amendment.
And that's why, John, it's the
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first.
It's not the 4th, it's not the
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8th.
It's number one that
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differentiates America from the
rest of the world.
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And this, you know, we're going
to have a celebration here in
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July, a 250 year birthday party
for America.
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But that's the key that
separated us, the ability for
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any individual to express their
opinion.
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This is what I believe God meant
for people to do.
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We'll talk freely probably.
Kirk promoted that.
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Especially in an environment of
a lot of a lot of political
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vitriol in real time.
We watched the poor man get
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assassinated.
And so I, I felt it was fitting
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for us to remember his birthday,
which is October 14th, I
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believe.
And I did do a proclamation
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calling that Charlie Kirk Day.
Really it's First Amendment Day
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is what it is.
It's to remind us that that
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amendment separates us from
history, separates us from all
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the other, all the other
countries on the face of the
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earth.
So.
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Governor, my last question to
you is this.
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What keeps you?
Grounded because I think you are
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a little different than most
politicians.
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I've met most a lot of
politicians, you know, they like
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to talk about themselves and
they like to think about
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themselves.
And that's not necessarily a bad
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thing.
But that's not ever been your
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MO.
You, you seem to not really care
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if you make a headline or don't
make a headline.
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And in my opinion, I've gotten
to know you a little bit and
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you're you're a kind person.
I often tell the story about how
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Governor Dunleavy gave my wife
and IA personal tour of the
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governor's mansion for like 30
minutes.
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Like no security, no staff, just
gave us a tour.
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And they're like, that just
blows people away.
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And that's just probably how you
normally operate.
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So what keeps you grounded in
life in general?
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Not just being the governor, but
in life, what has kept you
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grounded?
That's a great question.
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I don't think everyone I don't,
I don't, I can't recall anyone
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ever asking that question.
But you know, I didn't run for
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governor to pat myself in the
back.
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I, I, I'm pretty happy with who
I am and have been my entire
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life.
It's not like I've been in
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search of trying to give my life
meaning.
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I had great parents.
They were FDR Democrats and and
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they were very good parents.
They always, they always
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instilled in the four boys
there.
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I three brothers that you should
always be looking out for the
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00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:14,320
little guy and that's not a pun
because I'm 6 foot 7, but it's
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00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,880
really it's everyone should have
opportunity and whatever you do
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00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,480
in life and if you're going to
choose public service is to help
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00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,120
provide that opportunity.
This isn't about, you know,
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running for governor to be
someone.
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I mean, it's interesting, John,
we're going to have a lot of
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folks run for governor because
I'm turning out and what people
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00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:32,880
should do is ask those people
what their mission is.
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And if they look at them like
they're, there's a deer in the
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00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,360
headlights moment, maybe they
don't have a mission.
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But my mission has always been
to try and create opportunities
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for Alaskans.
I am certainly on the right side
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of the spectrum because I think
that philosophy, I think honors
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the individual.
But I would say what keeps me
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grounded is that I grew up the
son of a, a mother who was the
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daughter of immigrants.
And maybe she may, I think she
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made the most, maybe $16,000 a
year as a secretary and a
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mailman.
My father maybe made 34, maybe
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$35,000 as a mailman.
And that everyone matters and
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that don't get too full of
yourself because you could be
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disappointed and karma comes
around.
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So I would say Long story short,
I like people, love Alaskans,
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love Alaska.
And in the end, it's, it's what
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I can create in terms of
regulation or, or legislature
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with legislature to help Alaska
and help people.
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And so I don't, you know, I
don't look in the mirror
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everyday and say, you know,
you're the most amazing person
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that ever lived.
I get up in the morning and I
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get ready to tackle problems and
I just enjoy dealing with
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problems.
I don't know if that answered
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the question.
It's just you just can't be full
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00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,680
of yourself in these jobs
because you're only here for a
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00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,240
certain amount of time.
And this is a this is a unique
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Republic we have here in
America.
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Well, I appreciate your time,
Governor.
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Welcome back anytime and we wish
you well and we hope you have a
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phenomenal rest of your day.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and
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your family.
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,440
Well, one of my favorite
governors in the history of
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00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:05,520
politics inside been doing
politics.
3
00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:07,480
Governor Mike Dunleavy, welcome
to my show.
4
00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,200
Excited to have you on.
You know, it's, it's great to be
5
00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:11,320
on John.
Thanks for having me.
6
00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,000
Well, it's fun.
It's fun to sit back and see
7
00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,160
some of the cool things that
you've done over the years.
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00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,720
I think one of the things that
is really intriguing to me is
9
00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,000
you have a really great
relationship with President
10
00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,960
Trump.
And I think that that does
11
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:27,640
really well for the state of
Alaska.
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00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,800
Can you talk to me a little bit
about why that's been so
13
00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,640
important for you?
And maybe some of the key
14
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,080
differences is of like having
the Joe Biden in and then
15
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,040
getting Trump back into office
has been good for Alaska.
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So obviously I support President
Trump and there's reason there's
17
00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,880
there's clear reasons for that.
He's been fantastic for Alaska.
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Trump one point O he began the
process of creating all kinds of
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00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,360
opportunities for Alaska.
NPR Excuse me, Anwar reopening
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00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,920
the Tongass National Forest,
giving us a presidential permit
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00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,360
to have a railroad go across the
border with Canada.
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00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,280
He really worked on the King
Cove Rd.
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00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:09,240
He was very interested in giving
Alaska the opportunities that we
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had hoped we had gotten at
statehood when we became a
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state.
And so there's been a lot of
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other administrations.
I'm mostly Democrat, but some
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Republicans too, that have
either ignored Alaska or have
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actually worked against Alaska.
President Trump is on the exact
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opposite.
And as a resource state, as a
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state that came into the union
having to develop its resources
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in order to pay for itself,
President Trump was fantastic.
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That's one O 2 point O is even
better.
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He issued an executive order for
the state of Alaska.
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We're the only state that's got
an executive order.
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He mentioned our gas line
project and his State of the
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00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:44,200
Union speech.
The list goes on.
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And his he's instructed his
staff, his secretaries and
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others to work directly with
Alaska to work with us to get
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some of these things across the
finish line reopened, Anwar is
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00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,920
reopening.
The Tongas got the King Cove Rd.
41
00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,200
land title situation
straightened out so they can get
42
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,400
a road and PRA is going to be
back online.
43
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,840
Ambler Rd.
LDLNG pipeline, He's behind
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00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,480
100%, all for what I think are
very good reasons for the state
45
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of Alaska.
Again, opportunities to help the
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state, help the country and help
our Asian allies.
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00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,200
And do you think I mean, the
obvious answer to me is yes, but
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00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,440
having a friendship with Trump
is helpful to Alaska?
49
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,680
Yeah, You know, John, there's a
thing that's not often spoken
50
00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,080
about in politics.
And I I term it the cringe
51
00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,960
factor, meaning two politicians
are walking down a hall or
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00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,680
street and they see each other.
Do they cringe when they see
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00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,680
each other or do they not?
For me, there's no cringe with
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00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:48,240
President Trump.
We, we get along.
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00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:50,880
We like each other.
I really think what he's doing
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is, is terrific for Alaska.
He sees what we're doing up here
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00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,720
is also in line with what his
vision is for America.
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And so we, we, we get along.
And it, it is important because
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00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,720
you've developed AI think a
level of trust the president's
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00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,560
the, the most powerful human
being in the universe right now.
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00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:11,720
And so being able to have a
conversation with him, I'll give
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you an example.
And, and this, it's phenomenal.
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We were outside the Alaska
Airlines Center when the
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00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,040
individuals were coming in from
Typhoon Halong, from the
65
00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,240
devastated villages out in the
Yukon Delta.
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And I was standing in front of
the Alaska Airlines Center and I
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00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,800
sent the president on my phone.
I texted him a picture and it
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was about 9:00 our time.
So East Coast, he's about 1:00
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in the morning.
He texts right back.
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He goes tell the people we'll
ask that I love them, hear about
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them or we're going to help
them.
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I mean, how often does that
happen, right?
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And so I was on a plane getting
ready to leave about a week or
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00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,520
two later was actually Doug
Bergum, the Department of
75
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,160
Interior.
His phone number came up on my
76
00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,280
phone.
I couldn't get to the phone in
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00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,440
time before we lost connection.
So when I landed, I listened to
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00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,960
the phone and it was Doug's
number, but it was the president
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00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,720
saying, hey, congratulations,
Mike.
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You know, we got the Ambler Rd.
going and it's going to be great
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00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,320
things for Alaska.
So appreciate the president.
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00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,480
President appreciates what what
he's doing for Alaska.
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Look at John, we're only 740,000
people the size of a county at
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00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,920
the top of the world.
We only have three electoral
85
00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,360
votes.
You know, we're we're not, we're
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00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,640
not a Texas or California.
Yeah, he gives us a lot of
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attention.
And so for that I'm grateful.
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That's pretty awesome.
Let's talk a little bit about
89
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,680
this Alaska Day that happened.
Doug was there.
90
00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:35,440
I think both the senators, Nick
Beige, they, they signed this,
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00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,400
you know, document that was
going to basically unleash
92
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Alaska's energy.
You know, we've heard that.
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00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,000
We've seen those rumblings in
the paper before, and you've
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kind of been the governor to not
talk about it unless something's
95
00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:49,960
actually happening, which I
really appreciate.
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00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,280
Do you think something is
actually happening with, let's
97
00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,520
say, specifically LNG or some of
these other projects?
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00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,480
Yeah.
So LNG absolutely.
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00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,120
And I'll give you I'll give you
some reasons why I believe it's
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00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,920
moving, right.
I'm not going to do backflips,
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00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,240
which would be dangerous in any
day, but for me to do a
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00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:08,400
backflip.
But I'm not going to do
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00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,800
backflips until the pipe is on
the ground.
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00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:12,760
Then we get a first Weld.
But let me tell you where we're
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00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,080
at.
So Baker Hughes, which is a huge
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00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,560
international firm that deals
with things such as natural gas
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00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,040
pipelines and LNG, they signed
on to actually start the process
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00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,520
of putting together the
components for things like
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00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,400
compressors and so forth.
They're also interested, I
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00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:31,840
believe, in being an investor in
this project.
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00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,480
They would never do that if they
thought that this didn't have a
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00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,200
pretty good chance.
And So what people need to watch
113
00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,960
is December Glenfarn, who's the
private concern that is running
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00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,600
the pipeline process and is
going to be the major dealer in
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00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,000
this whole thing.
They're going to finish up their
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00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,040
feed process and what feed is
front end engineering and
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00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,320
design.
It's really for the pipe.
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00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,240
It's an update.
It's an it's a it's an updated
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00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,320
cost.
Last cost update was done in
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00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,480
2015.
It's now 2 thousand 2526 we're
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00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,440
going to be going into.
So they got to update the the
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00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,640
cost of that pipe.
They're feeling really good
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about where they're at now.
They've had contractors look at
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the pipe.
They've had contractors on the
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on the pipeline right away,
actually physically going down
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from Prudhoe all the way down to
the Kiski engineers looking at
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it.
And they feel that their study
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00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,080
in the end in December will come
out that the pipe is coming in
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within a price range that's
going to make things economical.
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00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,920
When that happens, January is
when they all announce FID,
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economic FID be able to start to
purchase pipe.
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And so they believe that
everything works out,
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everything's going the way it
should go.
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January, they'll announce
they're going to purchase pipe
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00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,040
and we should have pipe on the
ground in August of 26, which
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00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:47,320
means we're going to have a
pipeline.
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00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,520
So what those two, those two
time periods of December and
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00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,600
January are absolutely crucial
and will tell us a whole lot
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about the future of this
pipeline.
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That's huge.
You know, I look back and I look
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00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,880
at Governor Walker's strategy
philosophy and your strategy
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00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,120
philosophy and philosophy really
completely different
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00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,120
philosophies.
I think under Walker it's more
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state LED.
State ran, you had countries and
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00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,680
they're coming in and running
the the man camps.
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00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:19,640
Yours is private LED, you know,
state still involved, but more
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00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:24,760
private LED.
Do you think that there is
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00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,720
having the state, having the
state kind of back out of it was
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00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,080
a good, was a good choice and
you know being the lead person
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00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,080
and owning the whole thing.
You know, that's a great
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00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,520
question, right?
And I'm not not one of those
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politicians that takes credit
for things that I have not been
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00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,040
part of.
And oftentimes I'm criticized by
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00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:46,000
my supporters for not taking
enough credit.
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But I'll say this, this may
shock people.
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00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,920
A lot of governors have tried to
push this pipeline, right?
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And they they all wanted a
pipeline for Alaska, which I
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appreciate.
I mean, it goes back, it goes
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00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:57,400
back decades and decades and
decades.
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00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:02,040
Frank Murkowski, Sarah Palin,
Sean Parnell and Governor
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00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,040
Walker.
Now Governor Walker's approach
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00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,880
and you got to understand all of
these things in these moments of
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time.
It's it's a different time
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00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:10,920
period as to what's happening
internationally too.
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00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,120
At the same at the time we're
trying to move this gas line.
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But I give all the governors a
lot of credit.
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00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,840
I give, I give Governor Walker
credit for trying to move the
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00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,280
pipeline in the manner that he
did help bring attention to it,
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00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,680
especially with our Asian allies
and and with China, which is not
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necessarily an ally of America,
but nonetheless.
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So what's the point?
It's good to know that we've had
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a number of administrations
trying to get this across the
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finish line.
Things are different now.
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The environment worldwide is
different.
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Gas with regard to AI, gas with
regard to electrification of the
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world, just a lot of gas being
used in a whole host of areas,
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both for economic reasons of
political, geopolitical reasons.
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So Long story short, I thought
the approach that we took was
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the best approach because it's
got to be economical and who's
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00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,960
going to determine if it's
economical is our private
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enterprise.
It's private enterprise.
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And so we were able to do that.
And eventually we had a
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00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:06,680
conversation with Glenn Farn
about a year and a half two
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00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,160
years ago and they became very
interested in this process by
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00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,640
breaking the the the concept up
into three parts, the pipeline,
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00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,600
the liquefaction export plant
and the gas conditioning plant
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on the slope.
And everything seems to be
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00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,880
working right now.
Again, crossing my fingers I'm
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00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:26,560
not going to have a party or
parade until the pipes ordered
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00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:29,040
and we start to Weld that up.
But things are looking pretty
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00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,400
good so far.
Yeah, my good friend Charlie
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00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,600
Pierce always tells me don't get
excited till they start ordering
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the pipe.
So yes, I think that that's a
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00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,120
good philosophy to take.
Let's pivot now.
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00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,640
You just did a Charlie Kirk day.
I believe you signed it into
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00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,120
fruition for the state of
Alaska.
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00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,920
Talk to me a little bit about
what that means to you.
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00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,560
I know what it means to me, but
I think it's important that his
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legacy not be forgotten.
He was the guy that showed up to
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college campuses and let anybody
debate him, regardless of how
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00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,160
crazy they were.
And I think, man, it's a lost
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00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,520
art.
And I think I'd hate to see that
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00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,000
be even more lost because he was
tragically murdered.
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00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,760
So talk to me a little bit about
Charlie Kirk Day for Alaska.
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00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,400
Yeah, so I mean, you've had a
number of folks in the history
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00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,840
here in in America, across the
world, but here specifically in
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America.
I mean, I'll, I'll start in the
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00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:20,800
60s with, you know, even people
like Malcolm X, for example, was
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00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,120
assassinated in New York City
because of his views on certain
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00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,200
things.
And then, of course, our
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00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,560
president, President Kennedy was
assassinated.
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00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:30,400
Martin Luther King, similar
reasons.
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00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,120
And Charlie Kirk, you know, the
thing about Charlie Kirk, I
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00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,360
think that I think Charlie
Kirk's assassination in some
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00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,440
respects bothered me than than
than than other assassinations.
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00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,360
They're all terrible.
It's, it's an awful way for
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00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:45,200
anyone to express their dislike
or disagreement with somebody by
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00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,360
by doing the ultimate act of, of
crossing that line and pulling a
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00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,360
trigger.
Charlie Kirk, in my opinion, you
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00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,920
know, he certainly is politics
certainly laid on the right side
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00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,240
of the spectrum, as we would
say.
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00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,360
But I don't think anyone could
argue with him, with him or
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00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,480
anyone that supported Charlie
Kirk in terms of the 1st
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00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,240
Amendment.
You got to be able to have a
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00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:05,920
conversation.
And he often said this.
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00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:07,400
If you don't have a
conversation, this is when
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00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,360
trouble trouble happens.
And ironically, that he was
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killed for that very reason.
And you know, the concept of a
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martyr is somebody that dies for
cause in, in essence, Charlie
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died for the First Amendment.
We may not agree with him.
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00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,640
Some of some people in America
may not agree with his positions
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on things like transgender
folks, the way to run
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government, politics, etcetera.
But nonetheless, he's a young
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man, died at prime of his, in
prime of his life.
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He was married, he had kids, but
he died for a reason I think
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00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:38,760
every single American should
support.
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00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,560
We don't have the 1st Amendment.
And that's why, John, it's the
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first.
It's not the 4th, it's not the
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00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,800
8th.
It's number one that
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00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,200
differentiates America from the
rest of the world.
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00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,080
And this, you know, we're going
to have a celebration here in
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00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,360
July, a 250 year birthday party
for America.
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00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,040
But that's the key that
separated us, the ability for
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any individual to express their
opinion.
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00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,320
This is what I believe God meant
for people to do.
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00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,160
We'll talk freely probably.
Kirk promoted that.
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Especially in an environment of
a lot of a lot of political
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00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:19,000
vitriol in real time.
We watched the poor man get
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00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,760
assassinated.
And so I, I felt it was fitting
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for us to remember his birthday,
which is October 14th, I
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believe.
And I did do a proclamation
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calling that Charlie Kirk Day.
Really it's First Amendment Day
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is what it is.
It's to remind us that that
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00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:38,400
amendment separates us from
history, separates us from all
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00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:40,800
the other, all the other
countries on the face of the
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earth.
So.
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Governor, my last question to
you is this.
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What keeps you?
Grounded because I think you are
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00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:49,840
a little different than most
politicians.
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I've met most a lot of
politicians, you know, they like
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to talk about themselves and
they like to think about
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themselves.
And that's not necessarily a bad
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thing.
But that's not ever been your
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00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,040
MO.
You, you seem to not really care
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if you make a headline or don't
make a headline.
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00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:10,600
And in my opinion, I've gotten
to know you a little bit and
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you're you're a kind person.
I often tell the story about how
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Governor Dunleavy gave my wife
and IA personal tour of the
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00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,720
governor's mansion for like 30
minutes.
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00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:26,080
Like no security, no staff, just
gave us a tour.
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00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,680
And they're like, that just
blows people away.
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And that's just probably how you
normally operate.
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So what keeps you grounded in
life in general?
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Not just being the governor, but
in life, what has kept you
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00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,360
grounded?
That's a great question.
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00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,840
I don't think everyone I don't,
I don't, I can't recall anyone
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ever asking that question.
But you know, I didn't run for
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00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:47,840
governor to pat myself in the
back.
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I, I, I'm pretty happy with who
I am and have been my entire
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life.
It's not like I've been in
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00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,800
search of trying to give my life
meaning.
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I had great parents.
They were FDR Democrats and and
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00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,600
they were very good parents.
They always, they always
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00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:06,880
instilled in the four boys
there.
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00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,760
I three brothers that you should
always be looking out for the
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00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:14,320
little guy and that's not a pun
because I'm 6 foot 7, but it's
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00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,880
really it's everyone should have
opportunity and whatever you do
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00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,480
in life and if you're going to
choose public service is to help
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00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,120
provide that opportunity.
This isn't about, you know,
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00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,120
running for governor to be
someone.
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00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:27,960
I mean, it's interesting, John,
we're going to have a lot of
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00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,760
folks run for governor because
I'm turning out and what people
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00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:32,880
should do is ask those people
what their mission is.
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00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,600
And if they look at them like
they're, there's a deer in the
295
00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,360
headlights moment, maybe they
don't have a mission.
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00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,880
But my mission has always been
to try and create opportunities
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00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,320
for Alaskans.
I am certainly on the right side
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00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:47,400
of the spectrum because I think
that philosophy, I think honors
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00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,160
the individual.
But I would say what keeps me
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00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:56,760
grounded is that I grew up the
son of a, a mother who was the
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00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,360
daughter of immigrants.
And maybe she may, I think she
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00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,680
made the most, maybe $16,000 a
year as a secretary and a
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00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,920
mailman.
My father maybe made 34, maybe
304
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:11,360
$35,000 as a mailman.
And that everyone matters and
305
00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,480
that don't get too full of
yourself because you could be
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00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,160
disappointed and karma comes
around.
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00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,720
So I would say Long story short,
I like people, love Alaskans,
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00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:25,120
love Alaska.
And in the end, it's, it's what
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00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:29,480
I can create in terms of
regulation or, or legislature
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00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,120
with legislature to help Alaska
and help people.
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00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,640
And so I don't, you know, I
don't look in the mirror
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00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,760
everyday and say, you know,
you're the most amazing person
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00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:39,640
that ever lived.
I get up in the morning and I
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00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,440
get ready to tackle problems and
I just enjoy dealing with
315
00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:43,800
problems.
I don't know if that answered
316
00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:45,560
the question.
It's just you just can't be full
317
00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,680
of yourself in these jobs
because you're only here for a
318
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,240
certain amount of time.
And this is a this is a unique
319
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:52,640
Republic we have here in
America.
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Well, I appreciate your time,
Governor.
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00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,360
Welcome back anytime and we wish
you well and we hope you have a
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00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,440
phenomenal rest of your day.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and
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00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:00,880
your family.