By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 25,2026 – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy returned to the state Wednesday night after attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., where he had a front-row balcony seat overlooking the House chamber.
From that vantage point, Dunleavy said he witnessed what he described as a stark contrast between Republicans and Democrats during the president’s speech, particularly in moments honoring victims of crime and members of the military.
“Trump inherited a nation in crisis, with horrendous military recruitment, wars, chaos, border incursions, inflation,” Dunleavy said. “His message was we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before.”
But it was the reaction of Democrats in the chamber that left the strongest impression on him.
“The Democrats in the room — they would not stand for the girl murdered in Charlotte. They would not stand to support law-abiding Americans,” Dunleavy said. He added that Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib “would not stand at all, not for a thing. They heckled.”
“I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and let things roll off,” he continued. “But there is nothing they could say that explains or justifies that. They can say, ‘We hate Trump,’ but they won’t stand to honor the pilot who got shot in the legs, or for the girl who was murdered? They would not stand for anything.”
Dunleavy said the dynamic was more noticeable in person than on television.
“That struck me … that they either have hatred for Trump so great that it blocks their sanity, or they just don’t care about stuff we care about,” he said. “You saw it more when you were there in person.”
Although the address ran long, Dunleavy said it did not feel that way from the gallery.
“It was a long speech, but it didn’t seem long,” he said, describing it as centered on “America’s greatness.”
“Don’t believe that a president can’t do anything. Policies matter. Policies and execution matter. You can turn a ship of this size through policy and execution,” he said.
Dunleavy pointed to border enforcement as an example.
“President Biden said there was no law to follow so he couldn’t do anything. Trump is now in office and the illegals are actually leaving. He just follows the law,” Dunleavy said. “He is a force of nature. When he says he is going to do something, he does it. The stuff he is doing is going to make the country better.
“I don’t know how Democrats can say illegals by the millions make the country better,” he added.
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Asked whether he was surprised that Alaska was not mentioned in the address, Dunleavy said he was not.
He knew this speech was going to be about heroism and patriotism, he said, noting it had little focus on energy policy.
He said the president has already delivered significant results for Alaska.
“Alaska has gotten more from this guy in his one year and in his four other years than anyone,” Dunleavy said.
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He pointed to a recent federal land transfer to the state and a newly announced shared stewardship agreement with the U.S. Forest Service that allows Alaska access to up to 300,000 acres of Tongass land for the next 20 to 40 years, including areas with mineral and hydropower potential.
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“The president is not backing off on Alaska,” Dunleavy said. “It’s just that this speech was about bigger national issues.”
He noted that during a recent anniversary address, Trump specifically referenced Alaska and the state’s long-discussed natural gas pipeline project.
From his balcony seat, Dunleavy said the overall tone of the evening was clear.
“It was a stark contrast,” he said. “People may not like how he handles things. But he gets things done.”
11 thoughts on “Dunleavy: Democrats’ refusal to stand for heroism was unjustifiable at State of the Union”
The democrats in congress do stand alright, but tragically it is for evil. TDS, maybe, as purposeful hatred is a powerful emotion that sears the soul and clouds reality. I think it is more than hatred of the president but is a far deeper spiritual issue that seems to be consuming the Democrat party. It is not the party it even was ten years ago.
You are absolutely CORRECT!!
President Trump is the Right example how Republican leaders ought to be. Do the Right thing in your families, your workplaces, and state governments Despite the public’s criticism because it means they themselves are getting cut for either being the wrong person in a job or there just isn’t enough private sector money to keep supporting your job or your contract or priorities have changed.
In Alaska we can’t say we didn’t have a Trump of our own here. We did. He was Governor Frank Murkowski. We one-termed him because we didn’t like his Trump-administrative style.
If Alaska Republicans want another Trump on Anchorage or State of Alaska then you all have to grow a backbone.
I remember hearing peoples criticism of Frank Murkowski calling out the DC tactics he learned as a US Senator they just don’t fly over well with Alaskans.
Now years later and older I see Alaskans were just a bunch of weak people who were government dependent. They were more uncomfortable with that Frank Murkowski was making them grow stronger and grow up. Alaskans wanted to stay as a child and dependent on Big Daddy ( Government) for money.
Equating Frank Murkowski with Donald J. Trump is ridiculous!…Trump didn’t give us Lisa! Your last sentence is correct though! But if Alaska ends up with a Governor like Wilson, we’ll regret it big time! That’s like having a Governor Tuck, Lisa or Giessel…!
Derm the Mutt here, Snorting from Alaska. Most Old Democrats I know won’t stand because they can’t stand. It just hurts too much. Years of living on other people’s money, piles and piles of drugs (in my case, lots of hard spirits), anger, loneliness and resentment, just takes a toll on the old Democrat body. I wish I could stand and look half as good as 80-year old Trump. But I’m a worn-out old man who looks 15-years older than my biological age. I’ll be pushing daisies soon, along with most old Democrats I know. So good luck to the new wave of Republicans and MAGA folks. I really mean it. You guys carry the torch high.
During the State of the Union President Trump said “One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans a chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe,” then he said “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens. Not illegal aliens.” All Republicans stood up, only a couple Democrats did. That is a stark contrast. Democrats literally would not stand with to acknowledge their duty to Americans over illegal aliens.
They (democrats) do stand for some things. They stand strong for the illegal aliens who rape, kill and rob American citizens. They stand strong for foreigners who steal billions of taxpayer dollars through fraud. Foreign muslim invaders like Omar stand for turning our country into the third-world S#*thole she came from, in which everyone is utterly dependent upon government. While Trump can sometimes be crude, he has no problem clearly stating what most Americans are actually thinking. America is clearly a Christian nation, and the vast majority of Americans are willing to stand up for that status.
Dunleavy couldn’t remove his politician hat long enough to use befitting language in his critique of the despotic crooked democrats at the State of the Union address. Democrats stole the 2020 election and installed Biden as a tool to cause great damage to our Republic by implementing numerous destructive policies. Flooding our country with millions and millions of illegal invaders is one of a host of other destructive things the Biden Cabal did to facilitate our country’s downfall. If Trump hadn’t won 2024, they’d have succeeded!
The democrats are fighting hard to steal the midterms through cheating. That’s why they will not vote for the SAVE act and is why they are trying so hard to stop the Fulton Co. Georgia ballot fraud from getting exposed and publicized.
And Lisa Murkowski is a despot as well because she fights President Trump at every turn! She flies the republican flag while voting leftist democrat every time. That smells nastier than democrat to me, Lisa, It is traitorous!!!
So sad that these people suck up to these idiots. History will show if we survive that long, how horrible these republicans are. Sad but true.