On the weekend we celebrate American independence, Dan Sullivan stood on stage in Anchorage, recited the Declaration of Independence, and did it feet away from a Confederate battle flag. Then his campaign shared photos of the event — carefully cropped so you couldn't see the flag.
What happened
According to Native News Online, the event was "America Comes Alive," held July 5 at Mountain City Church in Anchorage. Alaska's senior senator appeared on stage reciting the Declaration while a Confederate battle flag was visible only feet from where he stood.
His remarks that day: "I've reflected a lot on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. We must always remain vigilant about safeguarding the rights and liberties so many Americans have fought and died for over the past 250 years."
The Confederacy, of course, fought a war against the United States — to preserve slavery. Reciting the founding document of American freedom next to the battle flag of the side that tried to destroy the country is, at best, a jarring contradiction.
The cover-up tells you he knew
Here's the part that turns an awkward photo into a story about character. Sullivan's Senate campaign posted images from the event on social media — but left out the pictures showing the Confederate flag.
If the flag were no big deal, why hide it? Cropping it out is an admission that Sullivan and his team understood exactly how it looked — and chose to conceal it rather than address it. That's not vigilance about "rights and liberties." That's damage control.
CAIR calls for an apology
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Sullivan to publicly apologize, saying that appearing next to a symbol of white supremacy and slavery "sends a troubling message." The group noted that public officials have a responsibility not to normalize or appear to legitimize a symbol long used to intimidate and marginalize minority communities.
As of the reporting, Sullivan had not addressed the flag's presence.
A senator who avoids accountability
This fits a familiar pattern for Dan Sullivan: do something that looks bad, then dodge the questions.
- He has ducked in-person town halls across Alaska, leaving angry constituents to hold "empty-chair" events without him.
- He markets himself as a regular working-class Alaskan in a Carhartt jacket — while his campaign groups spent more than $1.5 million at luxury hotels and golf resorts since 2015, much of it far from Alaska.
- When demonstrators showed up at his address to state legislators, they chanted "You work for us, not Trump!"
The cropped photos are the through-line: Sullivan would rather manage the image than answer for what he actually does.
The bottom line
Standing beside a Confederate flag on the Fourth of July weekend, then hiding it from voters, is not the mistake of someone who was blindsided. It's a choice — and the choice to conceal it says the most. Alaskans deserve a senator who can be honest about where he stands, literally and figuratively.
Source
This post is based on reporting from Native News Online and MS NOW, plus a statement from CAIR. Photo: Native News Online.
