Former President Donald Trump plans to attend a campaign rally in Anchorage this week for candidates he has endorsed in the state, including former governor Sarah Palin who is running for U.S. House.
The five-hour event is scheduled for Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. According to preliminary details released by the former president’s office, the event will begin at 11 a.m. with entertainment. A series of speakers will begin at 1 p.m. and continue until 4 p.m., when Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks.
Austin Osborne, a spokesperson for the University of Alaska Anchorage, said Trump’s political action committee paid $53,081 to rent the building for the rally. Discussions about the event began several weeks ago, Osborne told Anchorage TV station KTUU last week, and involved the U.S. Secret Service planning all aspects of security.
Trump will deliver remarks in support of Palin, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski.
Trump late last year said Dunleavy had his “complete and total endorsement,” but it was subject to the governor not endorsing Murkowski. Dunleavy accepted that precondition.
Murkowski has been critical of Trump and voted to convict him at his impeachment trial last year. Trump was acquitted of the sole charge of incitement of insurrection related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump said in March 2021 that he intended to travel to Alaska and campaign against Murkowski.
Palin, an early Trump supporter, said she was honored to get Trump’s endorsement “early on in this race, and I’m excited to welcome him to the great state of Alaska.”
The Murkowski campaign declined comment on the event, Murkowski campaign spokesperson Shea Siegert said.
The Alaska Democratic Party, in a statement, said Alaskans “deserve credible and meaningful representation at all levels focused on their values and progress, not just their egos.”
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