I don’t wish to make mountains of this matter, but I do think it warrants comment. Let me begin by saying I am not unsympathetic to the name change. Most Alaskans refer to the highest point in the country as Denali, including former Governor Sarah Palin.
But this name change ought to have come about by an act of Congress, not because President Obama darn well feels like it before his trip to the 49th state later this week. Indeed, it was Congress which enacted the Mount McKinley National Park Act in 1917. If Congress sees fit to change the name then so be it. That is simply not the purview of the President, any President. Donald Trump has no more right to change the name back to McKinley than Obama does to change it to Denali. It should take an act of Congress to move mountains.
