Anchorage, Alaska, is preparing for one of its last warm summer weekends – right in the middle of berry season and the peak of the salmon run, but locals are wondering if Friday’s summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will disrupt their plans. Many residents say they want to enjoy the outdoors without political drama getting in the way. “I’m looking forward to taking my boat out on the water at Prince William Sound, that’s my plan,” said Andy Moderow, who works at a conservation nonprofit. Jeff Landfield, owner of the Alaska Landmine news site, summed up the mood: “They better not fuck up my plans.”
Read: Trump Administration Accuses UK of ‘Suppressing’ Human Rights
A City With a Northern Edge
Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska with a population just under 300,000, sits farther north than Oslo and St. Petersburg. Its low-slung downtown lies above the Cook Inlet, framed by the Chugach Mountains, with wide streets dotted with strip malls, birch trees, and shops selling Alaska Native handicrafts along with bear and moose-themed souvenirs. Locals often refer to the rest of the U.S. as “the lower 48” and pride themselves on their independence. “We don’t want to be part of whatever is happening there. We don’t have to do everything they do,” said Colleen Heaney-Mead, who runs a daycare in Anchorage.
Also read: Alaska’s Juneau Braces for Record Flooding from Mendenhall Glacier
Anchorage’s History as a Diplomatic Stop
This isn’t the first time Anchorage has played host to high-profile international diplomacy. In 2017, China’s president Xi Jinping made a stop in the city, enjoying king salmon and crab bisque after meeting with Trump in Florida. Two years later, Anchorage was the setting for a tense exchange between Chinese diplomats and Biden administration officials, who clashed publicly over human rights abuses and systemic racism. Those events made headlines, but residents say the Trump-Putin summit feels different, given Alaska’s proximity and historic ties to Russia.
Also read: ICE Deports 4-Year-Old U.S. Citizen with Stage-4 Cancer to Honduras
Russia as a Neighbor, Not an Abstraction
In Alaska, Russia isn’t a distant concept – it’s a nearby presence. Its military jets have been known to fly near Alaskan airspace, and its fishing policies reportedly affect local fishermen. “You feel like Anchorage is back on the map in a way, which I think everyone sort of enjoys,” said retired state senator Hollis French. “Although we’re expecting Trump to do something horrible.” Trump’s initial announcement that he would meet Putin “in Russia” raised concerns in a state that was part of the Russian Empire until 1867. “Please don’t sell us back,” joked Heaney-Mead, reflecting a common satirical response.
Also read: Trump Administration Punishes Lawyer Over Immigration Deportation Block
Cold War Memories and Strategic Awareness
Moderow, who grew up near the end of the Cold War, recalls nuclear drills and fallout shelters as part of his early childhood. While former governor Sarah Palin once famously exaggerated Alaska’s closeness to Russia, locals like French take the geopolitical reality seriously. “We are aware they’re a hostile neighbor… they probe our defenses and we respond accordingly,” he said. Still, residents distinguish between Russian citizens and their leader. “People don’t like Putin. It’s not Russia or Russians,” noted Landfield, pointing to longstanding cultural ties such as exchange programs and the Russian Orthodox Old Believers community in Alaska.
Also read: Bill Maher Slams Dr. Phil for Supporting Trump’s ICE Raids
Putin’s Visit Meets Local Skepticism
Matt Acuña Buxton, a political reporter in Anchorage, said there is “broad dissatisfaction” with Putin, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, visiting the city. “A lot of Alaskans really understand that Putin and Putin’s administration are really not friends of Alaskans,” he said. The White House has indicated the summit will take place at a military base in northeast Anchorage, a disappointment for locals like Meade, who say events on base “aren’t like it really happens in Alaska.”
Also read: Companies Supporting Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Report ‘Extraordinary’ Profits
Humor as a Coping Mechanism
Local polls and newsletters have turned the summit into a source of memes and satire. A poll by the Alaska Landmine found that 49% of respondents suggested Trump and Putin meet “at Sarah Palin’s house.” The Alaska Memo newsletter offered alternatives like hiking Flattop Mountain, billed as the “quintessential Anchorage-area date night”, or staying at the provocatively named Skinny Dick’s Halfway Inn on the road to Fairbanks. “It’s a meme-rich environment right now,” said Landfield. For Acuña Buxton, this humor is a way for Alaskans to manage the surreal prospect of Trump “trading Alaska to Russia,” even if, as he notes, “Ultimately… this is about Ukraine.”