Francesca Hong, the Democratic socialist candidate seeking to become Wisconsin governor, is revisiting past remarks about Thanksgiving after once calling for the holiday to be scrapped over its ties to colonialism — and now says it is actually her favorite celebration.
The Wisconsin gubernatorial hopeful addressed her deleted November 2021 “cancel Thanksgiving” post during an appearance Wednesday on Politico’s Playbook podcast.
“My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving,” Hong said. “Yup. I don’t want to cancel it, I actually love it.”
Speaking with host Irie Senter, Hong acknowledged that Thanksgiving is a major gathering for her family, while also noting that she tends to be “kind of a curmudgeon when it comes to holidays in general.”
Hong’s earlier comments came in November 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she posted a sharply worded message on X urging people to “cancel Thanksgiving” and saying it “should have been done in 1621.”
“If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx [sic] and women, so be it,” she wrote in the since-deleted post, apparently referencing the spread of smallpox and its devastating impact on Indigenous communities.
The Thanksgiving remarks are part of a broader pattern of holiday commentary from Hong on social media, where she has also criticized or complained about several other U.S. holidays, including Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, Christmas, Halloween, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Her latest clarification follows a CNN interview Monday, when anchor Kaitlan Collins asked whether she still believed Thanksgiving should be canceled and Hong responded with a 46-second answer that drew attention online.
Despite being asked point-blank, Hong wasn’t able to give a “yes” or “no” answer.
“I’m a chef, and one of the first meals that I made that was for the community when I was 16 was a Thanksgiving meal.,” she waffled to Collins.
“I always think my hospitality background and owning a restaurant for 7-8 years, that bringing folks around the table to share conversation and build community is always a good thing. But Thanksgiving is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities. So I think there I wanted to make sure people understood there are multiple views, but views can evolve.”
“And the position I’m running for right now — and I think my background as a chef will actually help me become a better governor that’s able to bring more people to the table,” she added before Collins ended the interview.
