Donald Trump has spent much of his second term peddling outlandish boasts about foreign investments in the United States. Indeed, the president has struggled to keep his story straight about just how much money he believes is headed to American soil — depending on the day, he has said the total is $17 trillion, “$18 trillion,” “$19 trillion,” “$20 trillion” or “$21 trillion” — even as the White House’s own tally has shown a vastly smaller number.

There have long been a variety of problems with Trump’s deceptive boasts, but at the heart of the matter is his willingness to pretend there’s no real difference between possible investments and money in the bank.

This week offered a timely, and electorally significant, example of the phenomenon.

It’s no secret that Republicans are deeply concerned about Alaska’s Senate race, and for good reason: Not only did former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola outpace her Republican opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, in the first round of balloting, but recent polls suggest the incumbent has a real problem on his hands.

With this in mind, the president announced this week that South Korea had agreed to invest $54 billion in a liquid natural gas pipeline project in Alaska, and Trump welcomed Sullivan to the Oval Office on Wednesday to tout the developments. The political motivations were unsubtle: This appeared to be a good-news story intended to boost the senator’s fortunes with time running out before Election Day.

You can probably guess what happened next. Reuters reported:

South Korea’s government, however, said the pipeline project would only ​go forward if certain commercial and legal conditions are met. […]

South Korea will begin reviewing the Alaska LNG project to assess its commercial viability and compliance with legal procedures, Seoul’s industry ministry said in a statement.

“No decision has been made on whether to invest or on the size of the investment,” the statement added.

A report in The Washington Sun noted that Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reporters on Thursday that he had “lodged a strong protest” with the Trump administration over the White House’s announcement, which “went far beyond what was agreed.” Around the same time, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said via social media that the commercial viability of the LNG project still needed to be confirmed.

Maybe Trump knew all of this and hoped voters in Alaska wouldn’t know the difference; maybe he was simply confused about the relevant details. Either way, if this was intended to help Sullivan a few weeks before early voting begins, the White House’s gambit fell apart rather quickly.

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