Trump Announces Taiwan Will Buy 30% of Alaska LNG Pipeline Output Over 20 Years at Wasilla Rally

President Donald Trump announced at a campaign rally in Wasilla, Alaska that Taiwan has agreed to purchase 30% of the natural gas output from the Alaska LNG pipeline project over a 20-year period. Trump made the announcement as he stumped for Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, whose Senate seat is increasingly at risk ahead of midterm elections, with prediction markets placing Democrat Mary Peltola at a 73% chance of flipping the seat blue for the first time since 2008.

The Alaska LNG pipeline has become a centerpiece of Trump's energy pitch in the state, with the Taiwan purchase commitment lending the long-discussed project new commercial credibility. Sullivan and Trump have been pushing the pipeline as a major economic driver for Alaska, and the rally appearance, coming after a stop in Ohio, drew attention to the president's travel pace at age 80.

Separately, Trump's diesel deal with Russia continued to draw bipartisan fire. A group of 12 senators, including Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis, joined three Democrats in urging Trump to immediately reverse course, arguing the arrangement would help Moscow sustain its war in Ukraine. Trump responded by saying the plan is "not a USA deal," distancing himself from the criticism. The agreement covers roughly 2.2 million barrels of diesel, authorized through next April, an amount analysts note is less than two weeks of U.S. demand and far too small to move retail prices, which remain near $6.28 per gallon. On the sidelines of the Wasilla rally, Trump also pardoned two Alaska mechanics convicted of violating diesel emissions laws, declaring from the stage that they faced 10 years in prison for fixing an engine.