GILLIAN: CHARLES WATSON FROM
MISSISSIPPI, THANKS SO MUCH.
KRISTIN: LOCAL LEADERS ARE STILL
STRUGGLING WITH THE ECONOMIC
IMPACT OF FEDERAL COVID-19
LOCKDOWN MEASURES N. ALASKA AND
IT’LL, GOVERNORS ARE URGING THE
WHITE HOUSE TO LIFT THE CDC’S
NO-SAIL ORDER AND ALLOW CRUISE
SHIPS TO RESUME OPERATIONS IN
U.S. WATERS.
AND WITH US NOW IS ALASKA
GOVERNOR MIKE DUNLEAVY.
GOVERNOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
COMING ON THE SHOW, AND I’D LOVE
TO GET YOUR TAKE ON THIS.
YOU RECENTLY WROTE THE WHITE
HOUSE ASKING THEM TO ENCOURAGE
THE CDC TO LIFT THIS NO-SAIL
ORDER BECAUSE YOU SAY IT HAS
ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED THE
ALASKAN ECONOMY.
HOW SO?
>> WELL, BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND
THIS YEAR, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE
THE ABOUT A $3.3 BILLION
ECONOMIC LOSS IN ALASKA.
THAT’S BEEN A STATE WITH ABOUT A
$56 BILLION GDP, SO IT’S GOING
TO BE SIGNIFICANT.
WE’RE GOING TO LOSE MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS IN LOCAL REVENUES FOR
OUR COMMUNITIES ESPECIALLY ALONG
THE COAST.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES WILL REMAIN
STUBBORNLY HIGH WHEN WE COULD
ACTUALLY LOWER THEM THROUGH THIS
PROCESS.
SO, GILLIAN, THE ESHOO FOR US
IS -- ISSUE FOR US IS WE’RE
MANAGING THIS VIRUS PROBABLY
BETTER THAN ANY OTHER STATE.
OUR VACCINATION ROLLOUT IS THE
ENVY OF MANY.
16 AND OLDER, WE HAVE ABOUT A
THIRD OF OUR POPULATION FULLY
VACCINATED.
65 AND OLDER THAT’S TWO-THIRDS.
AND SO OUR DEATH NUMBERS HAVE
NOT INCREASED, AND WHEN YOU LOOK
AT THE FACT THAT OTHER COUNTRIES
ARE ARE HAVING A CRUISE ARE
SEASON -- ITALY, GERMANY,
GREECE --
KRISTIN: SO THE GOVERNOR OF
FLORIDA SAYS HE’S GOING TO SUE
THE CDC.
ARE YOU?
>> IF WE DON’T GET, I THINK, A
POSITIVE DIALOGUE HERE THIS
WEEK, THAT’S A REAL POSSIBILITY.
AGAIN, THE DECISION WILL BE
CRUSHING TO US.
KRISTIN: SO THE FLIP SIDE OF
THIS ARGUMENT IS YOU HAVE SOME
FOLKS, CDC SAYING WE’RE IN THE
MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC AND CRUISE
HIPS, PERHAPS, AREN’T THE BEST
PLACE TO BE, SO HOW DO YOU
COUNTER THAT ARGUMENT?
>> LET US WORK WITH THE CRUISE
SHIPS, LET THE STATES WORK WITH
THE CRUISE SHIPS.
LAST SUMMER IN THE MIDST OF THE
PANDEMIC WE WERE STILL ABLE TO
HAVE A LARGE COMMERCIAL FISHING
SEASON IN WHICH WORKERS FROM
COMING OUTSIDE OF THE STATE, AND
WE WORKED TO MAKE SURE THERE
WERE PROTOCOLS AND MITIGATION
PROCEDURES.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT OUR NUMBERS
AND DATA, WE’RE DOING THIS
BETTER THAN ANYBODY.
ALL WE WANT IS THE OPPORTUNITY
TO WORK WITH THE INDUSTRY.
AND, QUITE FRANKLY, I THINK WHAT
YOU’LL SEE IS IF THERE IS A
CRUISE SEASON AND YOU CAN GET
FOLKS ON THE BOAT, MOST OF THOSE
FOLKS ARE GOING TO BE
VACCINATED.
AND I THINK THE CRUISE INDUSTRY
ITSELF IS GOING TO WANT TO HAVE
A POSITIVE OUTCOME AS WE DO.
SO LET US WORK WITH THE
INDUSTRY.
WE CAN PUT TOGETHER THE
PROTOCOLS THAT WILL KEEP PEOPLE
SAFE AND, AGAIN, JUST LOOK AT
THE NUMBERS HERE IN ALASKA.
WE’RE PERFORMING REALLY WELL.
KRISTIN: GOVERNOR, ONE MORE
ISSUE YOU HAVE BEEN VERY
OUTSPOKEN ON IS THE BUILDUP OF
THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE
MILITARIES IN THE ARCTIC.
YOU SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SAW
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SUEZ CANAL
WITH THAT TANKER GETTING STUCK
THERE, THE IMPACT THAT IT HAD ON
GLOBAL SHIPPING.
NOW YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT WOULD
HAPPEN IF SOMETHING SIMILAR
HAPPENED WITH WHAT YOU DESCRIBE
AS THE AMERICAN SUEZ, THE
NORTHERN SEA ROUTE.
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING, WHAT ARE
YOU WATCHING IN YOUR STATE THAT
PERHAPS THE REST OF US IN
MAINLAND AMERICA AREN’T WATCHING
AS CLOSELY AS WE SHOULD?
>> YEAH.
I THINK MOST PEOPLE DON’T
REALIZE THAT ALASKA IS TWO AND A
HALF MILES FROM RUSSIAN FOR
STORY, 55 MILES FROM MAINLAND TO
MAINLAND.
AND THROUGH THE BERING STRAIT,
YOU HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC.
THE RUSSIANS HAVE OVER 40
ICEBREAKERS, THE CHINESE HAVE AN
ICEBREAKER.
THE U.S. HAS TWO, AND WE’RE AN
ARCTIC NATION.
ONE DEPLOYED IN ANTARCTICA, THE
ICEBREAKER THAT WAS DEPLOYED TO
ALASKA IS DOWN --
KRISTIN: WE HAVE NO ICEBREAKERS.
THE U.S. HAS NO ICEBREAKERS.
>> NO ICEBREAKERS.
KRISTIN: THAT SEEMS CRAZY.
>> WELL, IT IS, BECAUSE WE ARE
AMERICA.
WE ARE THE 49TH STATE, AND WE
ARE AN ARCTIC NATION BECAUSE OF
OUR STATE.
SO, ABSOLUTELY.
AND WE ARE SO FAR BEHIND THE
RUSSIANS AND NOW THE CHINESE ARE
SO FAR AHEAD THAT WE’RE GOING TO
HAVE TO MOVE FAST TO CATCH UP
AND HAVE SOME PARITY.
BUT, AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO TO
BE A CRUCIAL, IN OUR OPINION,
THIS IS GOING TO BE A CRUCIAL
TRANSIT ZONE.
KRISTIN: ALL RIGHT.
GOVERNOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I DEFINITELY LEARNED SOMETHING