D.C. trucker convoy cheered Dan Sullivan as a big supporter, until Sullivan refused livestream video with leaders. Now he’s an enemy

It was little more than a month ago that Sen. Dan Sullivan stood on the back of a flatbed with Mayor Dave Bronson and other right-wing politicians at the so-called “freedom” convoy in Anchorage, warping the meaning of the word beyond all recognition.

The freedom to do what? Infect others? Put countless lives at risk with anti-vaccine hysteria?

Sullivan shifted into full pandering mode that day and led the crowd in applause for truckers and others.

“And it was the truckers, and it was the people keeping our shelves full, and it was the frontline health care workers, and it was our police and first responders and it was our military. And they did a great job. They couldn't telework. And we want to thank them, so for all the people who kept us safe and our economy afloat, particularly during those first couple months during the pandemic, how about a round of applause for them?”

On Thursday, the Washington, D.C. version of the Pointless Parade to clog the highways and waste fuel, counted Sullivan as a bedrock Senate supporter along with extremists Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson. Cruz and Johnson flattered the group for circling the Beltway for freedom while waving the flag.

At the Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland, where the drivers are camped out, the participants listened as an organizer mentioned the plan to meet Sullivan on the steps of the Capitol and broadcast it to the world on Facebook. Sullivan was supposed to be the third U.S. senator to pander to the paraders.

“We have a meeting on Capitol Hill at 1 p.m. The senator that they’re meeting with, his name’s Dan Sullivan, he’s out of Alaska. He’s also preparing to support the people’s convoy. So that’s gonna make the third senator in just a couple of days guys that we have supporting the people’s convoy. And look, these senators, there’s gonna be more to come, we need to get (Joe) Manchin and a couple of the other ones on the Democratic side to come over so we can start bringing the two sides together,” the drivers were told.

The cars and RVs were going out first that day, followed by the trucks.

Sullivan was supposed to meet Brian Brace, the leader of the parade, and Randy Jackson, who is from Haines.

Zachary Petrizzo, a media reporter for the Daily Beast, has been covering the convoy. On Friday he wrote that the convoy participants are mad that Washington, D.C. drivers are giving them the finger. “Birds are flying everywhere,” as one trucker put it.

Petrizzo wrote on Twitter that the Sullivan meeting did not go as planned.

The Haines resident who met with Sullivan, complained on Facebook about the senator’s refusal to allow the meeting to be livestreamed and Sullivan’s refusal to say on national news that he supports the truck convoy.

He said Sullivan refused to allow him to videotape the session and required that the meeting be indoors. Jackson said a transcript would not be sufficient.

“Dan is a coward, yes, very disappointed, very disappointed with Dan Sullivan,” said Jackson. This was in one of multiple angry rants on Facebook in which Jackson made several false claims about vaccines and said the Emergency Powers Act has been abused to oppose freedom.

“He (Sullivan) told us and his staff told us all the wonderful things he’s been doing, you know, for Alaska and for truckers in general, going and doing a speech up there in Anchorage for the truckers freedom convoy, making all the right statements, but actions speak louder than words,” said Jackson, who also complained about “Build Back Better bullshit.”

“Unacceptable that he would go on the news and then not say that he supports our truck convoy,” said Jackson.

“That’s bullshit if he does not come out on the national news,” said Jackson.

Sullivan asked for this because of how he behaved last month in Anchorage.

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