President-elect Donald Trump pledged Sunday to revert the name of the nation’s tallest mountain back to Mt. McKinley, reprising his 2016 campaign promise to undo former President Barack Obama’s move to change its official name to Denali—long the name native people of Alaska have used for the peak.
The south peak (L) and north peak of Denali from Denali Viewpoint South in Denali National Park near ... [+]
Trump said Sunday during a speech at a conference in Phoenix hosted by the conservative Turning Point Action nonprofit that he would “bring back the name of Mount McKinley,” calling the former president “a very successful businessman” and “a strong believer in tariffs,” referring to an 1890 law McKinley sponsored while he served in the House of Representatives that drastically increased tariffs on imported goods.
Trump, who has pledged to hike tariffs on all imports, including a 60% tariff on goods from China, previously vowed to change the name of Denali back to Mt. McKinley after former President Barack Obama used his executive powers to rename the mountain in 2015 to recognize its cultural significance to Native American tribes.
The 20,320-foot mountain in Denali National Park is the tallest peak in both the U.S. and North America.
Trump also used his first rally-style address since winning the election to reiterate his call to revert the name of North Carolina’s Ft. Liberty back to Ft. Bragg. The fort, which had been named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, was renamed in 2023.
The “McKinley Tariff” was highly unpopular among the American public as it led to price increases on consumer goods and is widely believed to have cost Republicans, who backed the proposal, dozens of House seats in the subsequent election. Experts generally believe Trump’s plan to increase tariffs would also harm the economy and lead to price hikes.
The mountain was named after the former president in 1896 after McKinley won the Republican nomination for president. Obama renamed the mountain, using the preferred name used by Alaska’s native population, after pledging during his 2008 campaign to improve relations between the federal government and Native American tribes. Trump tweeted at the time that Obama’s move would be a “great insult to Ohio,” McKinley’s home state. After he was elected in 2016, Trump’s promise fizzled amid resistance from Alaska’s two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.
Trump asked about reversing Obama to rename Denali as Mt. McKinley (Forbes)
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