You Won't Believe Why Trump Was Called 'Infantile' By Alaskans For 'dumb' Mountain Name Change
By Mike-Ross
While much of the spotlight has been on Donald Trump’s controversial decision to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America”—a move that led to the Associated Press being banned from White House events for refusing to comply—Alaskans are outraged over another bold rebranding: the renaming of Mt. Denali.
According to a report from The Washington Post, Trump’s decision to revert America’s highest peak back to Mt. McKinley has stirred a mix of frustration and disbelief among Alaskans—some finding it absurd, others outright infuriated.
Jeff Yanuchi, a dogsled operator in Denali National Park and Preserve, summed up the sentiment: “It’s just another case of someone in Washington sticking their big nose where it doesn’t belong.” He added, “The mountain isn’t a political pawn—but that’s exactly what they’re trying to make it.”
Donald Trump (Photo by Kevin Lamarque for Reuters)
According to the Post's Karin Brulliard, "What perplexes many here is why Trump chose to thrust a mountain thousands of miles from Washington into a culture war while disregarding Alaskans’ wishes, their legislature’s pleas and their Republican U.S. senators’ disapproval. As the weeks go by, affront has turned to worry as the implications of more executive orders from afar, particularly those freezing federal grants and imperiling the jobs of 'parkies' who help drive the local tourism economy, begin to ripple across the permafrost."
Chris Noel, mayor of Denali Borough, is another naysayer about the change, telling the Post, "We prefer it to stay Denali, and we’re not going to change our name,” adding that he has not heard from one local who approves.
Comments made to the Post about Trump's decision to make the change, include, "“infantile,” “laughable."
According to 86-year-old Eliza Jones, the change is "dumb," telling the Post, "We don’t know who McKinley is. Denali has so much more meaning to it.”
"Alaska Natives and elected officials pushed Washington for decades to call the mountain Denali, as it had done with the national park in 1980. Objections by lawmakers from Ohio, McKinley’s home state, thwarted them," the Post report notes adding that the change was finally made by former President Barack Obama.
Sherri Jones Kriska of Fairbanks told the Post, "You want to make America great? Then keep it as Denali," before pointedly stating, " The undertone of racism is there."
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