Trump tweets he would change Denali’s name back
Donald Trump has some thoughts on the Alaskan mountain Denali getting its old name back.
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Denali’s name was officially changed to Mount McKinley in 1917 — after the country’s 25th president, William McKinley.
On Sunday, President Obama restored the traditional name. Alaskans who have inhabited the area for thousands of years refer to the 20,000-foot peak as Denali because it means “the high one.’’
The name changed in 1896, when a New Hampshire prospector informally named it after then-presidential candidate McKinley, mostly because McKinley supported the gold standard and the prospector wanted to annoy some silver miners he had met, who supported the silver standard.
McKinley, who was from Ohio, never stepped foot in Alaska, where Denali is located. The two states have been arguing over the name since at least 1975, when Alaskan legislators asked for the name Denali to be recognized at the federal level.
Politicians in Ohio have criticized Obama’s name change, while Alaska’s governor and two senators praised it.
Did we mention Trump’s friend Sarah Palin calls it Denali?
2016 presidential candidates
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