Trump claims other nations are ‘kissing my ass,’ begging to cut deals on tariffs

First of all, there is no “joint venture in an Alaska pipeline.”

Second, this doesn’t mean that Korea will come up with billions for Alaska LNG or build the pipeline.

Third, it’s not “great news for Alaska,” contrary to the claim by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, highlighted with a golden fist emoji.

On his own media platform, Trump said this about the acting Korean leader: “We talked about their tremendous and unsustainable Surplus, Tariffs, Shipbuilding, large scale purchase of U.S. LNG, their joint venture in an Alaska Pipeline, and payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea.”

That Dunleavy finds this to be great news for Alaska is a sign of trouble.

The governor just returned from South Korea with nothing in hand, not even a non-binding letter of intent to purchase gas from Alaska or to join an imaginary joint venture.

The Dunleavy administration believes that Trump’s trade war will prompt Asian nations to sign long-term binding contracts for tens of billions to underpin construction of an Alaska LNG pipeline, regardless of the cost.

“I’m telling you these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass,” Trump said at a Republican Congressional Dinner Tuesday night, drawing a laugh from the GOP crowd.

Trump didn’t say what leaders are kissing his ass, but there is something wrong with a president who thinks that making demeaning insults about allies or trade partners at a big dinner is a smart move.

“They are, they are dying to make a deal. Please, please sir make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything sir,” the master negotiator said of his foreign supplicants.

This is after Trump’s underlings gave contradictory messages about whether the tariffs were aimed at forcing concessions or permanent plans to collect money.

This latest incarnation of the Alaska LNG pipeline dream is founded on concessions—that enough Asian leaders will kiss Trump’s backside and come up with $50 billion or more to build the project.

The problem with the assumption that punishment equals gas pipeline is that no one knows from one day to the next what Trump will do, which will give any potential investor reason to delay.

This applies to building new factories and building new pipelines. His chaotic behavior means he can’t be trusted. The Trump Liberation Day financial debacle has made the situation much worse.

We have yet to reach the day when a foreign leader tells Trump, “Please sir, can we build two Alaska pipelines for you, sir?”

More evidence that Trump can’t be trusted came Wednesday when he announced on social media that he would delay tariffs for 90 days on most countries. He claimed he was lowering his tariffs for most countries.

And yes, this is supposed to get the Alaska LNG project built, according to Dunleavy and the others who have proclaimed that this is Trump’s Golden Age of Alaska.

I would never say that an Alaska pipeline is impossible. With the right level of state subsidy, anything is possible.

Yet Dunleavy is saying that no state subsidy is needed, just the global trade war launched by Trump in a scattershot, arbitrary fashion.

I’m sure that the acting president of South Korea flattered and praised Trump at great length, telling Trump what he wanted to hear. That’s smart politics.

There will be lots of pipeline talk in the months ahead and lots of people calling Trump sir.

The Japanese will say they will consider Alaska LNG and will consider investing in the project, but first they will need to learn all about it.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dan Sullivan says he is grateful to have Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent making Alaska LNG a priority, holding out the prospect of Trump pulling back on his trade war in exchange for a pipeline deal. Sullivan says this is “America’s Gasline.”

Sullivan says the project is a “win-win-win” with cheap energy for Alaskans, “energy security for America and a reliable supply of energy for our Asian allies.”

Bessent told CNBC that Trump wants to see “what our trading partners offer” in exchange for better treatment.

“For instance, there is talk of a big energy deal in Alaska where the Japanese and perhaps the Koreans, perhaps the Taiwanese, would provide, would take a lot of the off-take and provide financing for the deal. So that could be an alternative for them to come forward with that because not only would that provide a lot of American jobs, but it would narrow the trade deficit,” Bessent said on CNBC. Bessent said on Fox that Japan will get priority because it was quick to reach out to Trump.

Bessent didn’t say if the Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese are among those that Trump says are now “kissing my ass” and “dying to make a deal.”

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