I love this story! It's well written. Alaska is full of crazy tales and miraculous adventures, especially in the gold rush days. This sounds like the Wild West which is rife with stories and tales just like this. We still have tv shows, books, songs and movies about Cowboys (damn auto correct) like Jesse James. The Wild West is still a very popular topic, so why should this be any different? Shootouts in the street, Cowboys & Indians, bank robberies, train hold ups, prostitution, whorehouses, gambling, drinking, horse thieves & murder. 
Alaska has hundreds of similar tales and whether this is fact, fact mixed with speculation or folklore this is a cool bit of Alaskan history. I don't think this has anything to do with "bashing" a presidential candidate and everything to do with another tale of our gold rush days when thousands of people risked their lives to find gold in the hopes of becoming wealthy beyond their dreams. Trump having a personal connection makes this tale interesting.