The stock market was in freefall Thursday as Gov. Mike Dunleavy appeared on Fox Business to promote the gas pipeline. As to buying Greenland, he said that was above his pay grade.

As trillions of dollars evaporated because of Donald Trump’s tariff chaos and oil prices collapsed, Gov. Mike Dunleavy retreated to a safe space on Fox Business Thursday to talk about the Alaska gas pipeline and sing the praises of Trump.

The master plan, Dunleavy said, is to have the pipeline built and in operation in two-and-a-half years, or by about October 2027.

More than $10 billion will appear to build the pipeline first, which will carry gas from a field that has not been developed yet.

After that miracle, more than $35 billion will appear from Asian nations to build an immense North Slope treatment plant and an export plant on the Kenai Peninsula.

Dunleavy refused to answer a question about whether he was “very much in favor” or if he had “some qualms” about the Trump trade war.

The slide next to him said the S&P 500 was down 4.37 percent at that moment, while the Dow was down 3.69 percent. Oil prices were falling fast.

“I think everyone is hoping it’s gonna go for the best, we don’t know where it’s gonna, where it’s gonna lead, but we’ve got, we’ve got, we’ve got some smart people in D.C., econom—, economists etc.,” he said.

He said there is a need to rebuild U.S. industries so we can build ships and have domestic manufacturing, then pledged “I absolutely support the intent where the president wants to go with this.”

Dunleavy didn’t make the connection between the tariffs and forcing Asian nations to finance the pipeline by buying immense amounts of gas. Prosperity awaits Alaska, he said.

“And so this would mean that our bases would definitely have fuel, our utilities would have fuel. And you could be looking at things such as manufacturing and data farms well into the future. So 50-60 years of prosperity,” he said.

“Manufacturing and data farms in Alaska?” asked the ever-pliable Stuart Varney.

“Yes. Yes. Perfect place for data farms. It’s cool. It’s got water. We’ve got a lot of land,” he said.

Dunleavy spoke as if the letter of intent from Taiwan to study the purchase of Alaska LNG is tantamount to a decision to buy Alaska LNG and help build a pipeline. It’s not that at all.

Trump has extended his trade war to Taiwan and other Asian nations he hopes to blackmail into paying for the Alaska LNG facilities. I’m afraid they will be studying this idea long after Trump is gone.

The numbers on the TV screen next to Dunleavy during the interview told the real tale of the titanic Trump tailspin, with stocks cratering and the oil price collapsing in real time.

Oil prices fell Thursday and again Friday, a trend that, if it continues, will add tens or hundreds of millions to the Dunleavy deficit this year and next.

Dunleavy has declared this to be the “Golden Age of Alaska” and that every day under Trump is like Christmas.

The Golden Age uncertainty created by Trump’s incompetence is not going to lead to Asian nations putting up tens of billions for a gas pipeline. It won’t trigger a boom in factory construction across the U.S. for everything from shirts to steel.

As for Dunleavy, he best turn his attention to the state budget, which is in crisis because of his failure to lead.

If you haven’t done so already, read this column by Larry Persily for a succinct analysis of our financial morass.

“We need a working governor and legislators who will do real labor, not just wallpaper over the problems,” he writes.

We do not have a working governor. We have a talking governor. We have an AWOL governor.

Dunleavy, who came up short last year in the beauty pageant to join Trump’s cabinet, has long acted like a man who is desperate to take his talents elsewhere, running from every difficult decision since he was nearly recalled.

Without a working governor, it is hard or impossible for a Legislature with a large block of fiscal fantasists to do anything. That’s what we have in Juneau today.

We have the crowd of giant dividend dreamers, mostly Republicans, who don’t have the math on their side.

We have a group of those who want to support state services and some level of a dividend, mostly Democrats, but refuse to sign onto tax increases, thinking that would mean the end of their political careers.

Then there is the smaller number of those willing to put a compromise together that would fund education, preserve a smaller dividend of say $1,000 and require increases in oil taxes, mining taxes and an income tax. This is what we need from the Legislature, but it’s easier to stop something than to do something.

Too many legislators are afraid to tell the truth or face the consequences.

Thus, we end up with the House set to consider a budget that Alaska cannot afford, proposing a $1.9 billion deficit.

The AWOL governor proposed a $1.5 billion deficit and then waltzed off to play his Trump card. He has done nothing to deal with his proposed deficit, which is probably beyond $2 billion at this point.

Our state system requires a working governor, not one who pretends he has nothing to do, proposes a massive deficit and takes no responsibility for what happens.

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As markets collapse, Dunleavy says he absolutely supports what Trump is doing