Trump is so petty he wanted to undo Obama's re-naming of a mountain

In March, President Trump attempted to make good on one of his tweeted campaign promises to reverse an executive action by President Obama. The only problem was that two senators from Alaska didn't actually want to pick up what the president was puttin' down.

Alaskan Senator Dan Sullivan recently told Alaska Dispatch News (ADN) that in a March meeting between President Trump, his fellow Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, and himself, President Trump asked the Senators whether he should re-name the highest mountain in Alaska (and North America) from Denali to Mt. McKinley.

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"It was part of a conversation where they were discussing a number of harmful impacts to Alaska from the Obama administration," Sen. Murkowski's Communications Director Karina Petersen told Mashable. "While on that topic he asked if that was something he should undo that Obama did. Reverse that action of President Obama. And that was where they jumped in and said 'no, no, no. This is something that we do and we did support.'"

President Obama restored Denali with its Native Alaskan name in September 2015. 

The mountain's Native Alaskan name was originally Denali. In 1896, the federal government named the 20,320 foot mountain "Mt. McKinley" for former President William McKinley. Then, in 1975, the state of Alaska reverted back to calling the mountain Denali. But the persistent introduction of legislation by representatives from Ohio — McKinley's home state — blocked the renaming on the federal level, until President Obama's executive action.

"The Alaska Native people named that mountain over 10,000 years ago," Sen. Sullivan told ADN. "Denali, that was the name."

In August 2015, then-candidate Trump expressed his ire at President Obama's actions, and promised to undo the name restoration.

Faced with advising President Trump on this policy, the Alaska Senators answered with a resounding "no." There has been no further discussion of the issue between Senator Murkowski and President Trump. And Sen. Murkowski's office reports no adverse response from the Alaskan senator's constituents.

"This issue was part of a larger conversation," Ms. Petersen said. "And this issue on the mountain is pretty settled."

Sen. Murkowski has recently become known for breaking ranks with her party on the healthcare vote. Ms. Petersen said of her boss that "everything that she does, she does what's best for Alaska."

That includes rejecting the Republican healthcare proposals and staying true to the native name of Denali — and also exploring ways to open up Alaska's Naval Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A) to drilling. During the Obama administration, the President and then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar placed restrictions on the development of the petroleum fields in their four-year management plan. 

But in May 2017, Secretary Zinke signed an order seeking to reverse the former administration's stance and jump start the process of land evaluation, sale, and oil and gas resource development in the NPR-A and other formerly protected areas. The administration, with Congress’ help, is moving to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling as well.

Senator Murkowski remains committed to honoring and maintaining the heritage of Native Alaskans. On Saturday, Oct. 21, she spoke at the Alaska Federation of Natives' convention, the largest gathering of indigenous people's in the country, according to Ms. Petersen. 

So while things are looking grim for Alaska's wildlife right now thanks to the new directive on oil and gas development, it seems that Denali is safe at the moment.

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