Donald Trump Vows To Rename Tallest Mountain
What’s New
On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to restore the name of the tallest mountain in the United States from “Denali” back to its original name, “Mount McKinley.”
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s transition team and the National Park Service for comment via email on Sunday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Denali, the highest peak in the United States, rises over 20,000 feet in Denali National Park and Preserve in south-central Alaska. Once called Mount McKinley—a name given in 1896 to honor President William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901—the mountain holds significant historical and cultural importance.
In 2015, during a visit to Alaska, President Barack Obama officially restored the peak’s name to Denali, a term that means “the high one” in the Athabaskan language. This decision honored Alaska Natives and their centuries-old connection to the land and its traditional name.
The push to reclaim the name “Denali” had been ongoing for decades. Alaska formally adopted the Native name in 1975, but federal recognition lagged. Advocates saw the change as a step toward respecting Indigenous heritage and rectifying the erasure of Native names by American mapmakers in the early 20th century.
Here’s what you need to know:
Speaking at AmericaFest, an annual convention hosted by Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Donald Trump called for restoring the name of Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in the U.S. He argued the change would honor President William McKinley, whom he praised as a “great president.”
“McKinley was a very good—maybe even a great—president,” Trump told his supporters. “They took his name off Mount McKinley. That’s what they do to people. President McKinley was responsible for creating a vast amount of wealth. That’s one of the reasons we’re going to bring back the name Mount McKinley, because I think he deserves it,” he said.
The decision to rename the mountain Denali earned praise from local officials but also faced criticism from Ohio and other Republican lawmakers.
According to the White House’s presidential history, William McKinley, who served two terms as Ohio’s governor before his presidency in 1897, is remembered for leading the U.S. to victory in the Spanish-American War and implementing protective tariffs to boost American industry.
What People Are Saying
Back in March 2017, during his first term, Trump reportedly brought up the idea of reversing President Obama’s decision to rename Alaska’s tallest peak to Denali. According to CNN, he asked Alaska’s Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, about it during a private meeting.
Sullivan later recalled the moment during an October 2017 interview: “He looked at me and said, ‘I heard the big mountain in Alaska had its name changed by executive action. Do you want us to reverse that?’ Lisa—Sen. Murkowski—and I practically jumped over the desk, saying, ‘No, no! The Alaska Native people named that mountain over 10,000 years ago. Denali—that’s the name.’”
Their response made it clear: the name Denali was here to stay.
University of Alaska linguist James Kari shared insights with the National Park Service in February about the rich history and meaning behind the Athabaskan languages. He explained that five distinct Athabaskan languages surround the park, each with its own unique oral tradition of place names.
Kari pointed out that groups living to the north and west of the mountain, including the Alaska Range, use words that translate to “the tall one.”
Meanwhile, Athabaskan languages spoken to the south describe it with terms meaning “mountain-big.” The widely recognized name “Denali” comes from the Koyukon language, traditionally spoken on the mountain’s northern side, and originates from the word “deenaalee.”
What Happens Next
While it is unclear if Trump will rename the mountain when he takes office in January, changing the name of a mountain, lake or other geographical feature in a national park is often a lengthy process.
According to the National Park Service, a proposal must be submitted to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), which requires a compelling reason for the change and involves gathering input from local governments, relevant state authorities, and Native American groups. In addition, any name change would likely need to be approved through an act of Congress.
Of course a rascist ignoramous like Trump would find a way to promote his diseased ideas like this. Denali was named 10,000 years ago by native peoples according to the two Republican Alaskan senators. That’s not good enough for Trump. The next thing he’ll be promoting is a re-negotiation of the 1867 sale in which Secretary Seward bought Alaska from Russia for seven million dollars. Putin will demand a re-notiation and Trump, the so called businessman and Putin syncophant will probably let him have it for half price with a secret kick-back provision allowing Trump a few million for negotiating the deal. You heard it here first.