Aerial view of Denali
In view of some of Donald Trump’s truly worrying first steps – such as the USA’s withdrawal from the Paris climate protection agreement – this decree by the newly sworn-in 47th US President almost seems like a trifle. But it shows what kind of man Trump is.
Within 30 days, Denali, the highest mountain in North America, will once again be called Mount McKinley, named after the 25th President of the USA, William McKinley (1843-1901). “President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent,” said Trump adding that McKinley’s name simply belongs to this mountain.
“The great one”
William McKinley (1843-1901)
The 6,168-meter-high mountain in Alaska was called Mount McKinley for less than a hundred years: from 1917 to 2015. Then President Barack Obama decreed that the original name, which had been used in Alaska for centuries, would be reinstated. In the Native American language, Denali means “the great one” or “the high one”. The name Denali was and is also common in the mountaineering scene.
The fact that the mountain was named after McKinley in 1917 is said to have been due to a gold miner in 1896 who wanted to support the presidential candidate at the time with this idea. McKinley himself never visited “his” mountain or Alaska during his lifetime. How long will it be before Trump names a mountain after himself?
