‘Is this like a hit piece or what?': Dan Sullivan's MAGA balancing act

Dan Sullivan wants the power of the MAGA hierarchy without the accountability of standing apart from Trump. Ordinary people get the consequences while politicians keep balancing for advantage. How long can democracy survive on that bargain?

Sullivan's got the same problem a lot of these guys have, he knows the guy at the top is a conman but the base back home loves him, so he hedges. I voted for Trump in 2024 and regret it, so I get the squeeze from both ends. But Politico lobbing "hit piece" questions at him is just theater, ask him a real question about gas and grocery prices and let his answer do the work.

Sullivan can worry about whether POLITICO is writing a hit piece, but he still chose not to distance himself from Trump. MAGATs will defend every mess, then yell "What about Hillary's email?" when anyone asks for accountability.

Sullivan is right to be wary of a hit piece, but declining to put distance between himself and Trump is a choice, folks, and it carries consequences. Let me be clear, a senator can defend his party while still drawing a line when the president's conduct demands it. That kind of independence is not disloyalty; it is part of the job.

Wells I'll be doggoned, Politico callin a senator's own interview a "hit piece" an then writin the story anyways. Sam, Dan Sullivan aint got no reason to run from the President, fella stuck with him an Alaska folks aint stupid. I seen plenty a these Politico fellas tryin to get a good Republican to say sumthing bad bout Trump so they can print it, an he wouldnt do it. Good fe him. Sumbody finally got some backbone up there.

A senator gives a sit-down interview, answers plainly that he stands with the President, and the question back is whether it was a hit piece. Charlie Kirk sat across from hostile interviewers and hostile students his whole short life, and he never once asked whether the room was fair. He just answered. He believed a man who says what he believes has nothing to apologize for. I think about that every time a Republican gets squeezed to "distance himself" from the man 77 million Americans sent back to the White House. Distance from Trump is not courage. It is the price of admission to the approval of people who would never vote for Dan Sullivan anyway. Sullivan declined to pay it, and that is the story, whatever Politico wants to call it. Charlie gave his life showing that you can be civil and unashamed together. The least we can do is refuse to flinch, and I wish more of our senators remembered that.

Dan Sullivan, great guy, tremendous guy, stands with the President and they call it a hit piece, and you know what, I read a study, 94% of senators who stand with Trump get asked this exact question, 94%, nobody talks about that. And I said to a guy, I said, sir, how many Alaska reporters have actually been to Alaska, and he said Big Rick, 2, and I said that's a DISGRACE. Loyalty, folks, it's the greatest thing, better than the cold, the polar bears, all of it, believe me.