In a significant move in 2015, former Democratic President Barack Obama officially renamed the mountain Denali, honoring the name used by local Native Americans, following a lengthy and contentious naming dispute that spanned decades.
In a significant announcement, US president-elect Donald Trump has declared his intention to rename Denali, the name given by Alaska natives to North America’s tallest mountain, after William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States who was assassinated in 1901.
In a significant move in 2015, former President Barack Obama officially designated the mountain as Denali, aligning with the state of Alaska and bringing an end to a naming dispute that had persisted for decades. Since 1917, the peak has been officially designated as Mount McKinley.
“They removed his name from Mount McKinley,” Trump stated during a speech to his supporters in Phoenix on Sunday. In a recent statement, former President Trump, representing the Republican Party, expressed his admiration for a past leader, declaring, “He was a great president.” Trump went on to emphasize his intention to restore the name of Mount McKinley, asserting, “I think he deserves it.”
Mount McKinley, standing at an impressive elevation of over 20,000 feet (6,100 meters), received its name in 1896. This naming followed the discovery by a gold prospector in the area, who learned that William McKinley, a proponent of the gold standard, had secured the Republican nomination for president.
In a significant move, the US Department of the Interior, under an order signed by President Obama in 2015, officially changed the name of the mountain to Denali. The order highlighted that former President McKinley had never set foot on the mountain and lacked any substantial historical ties to both the mountain and the state of Alaska.
Denali, known locally by the Athabascan name meaning “the High One,” was officially designated as the name of the peak in 1975 by the state of Alaska. Following this decision, the state urged the federal government to adopt the name as well.
In a recent development, Alaskan senator Lisa Murkowski, representing the Republican party, has expressed her opposition to former President Trump’s commitment to rename the mountain.
In a recent post on X, Murkowski emphasized, “There is only one name worthy of North America’s tallest mountain: Denali – the Great One.”
William McKinley, who held the position of governor of Ohio for two terms prior to his presidency beginning in 1897, is noted for guiding the nation to triumph in the Spanish-American War. Additionally, he implemented protective tariffs aimed at bolstering U.S. industry, as reported by the official White House website dedicated to presidents.
