Overview
- On Monday Hong was asked on CNN whether she still believes Thanksgiving should be canceled and answered by saying the holiday can be “incredibly painful” for some people and that “views can evolve” without giving a yes-or-no response.
- The question followed a since-deleted social post from 2020–2021 that said, “Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” which critics have used to portray her as out of step with mainstream voters.
- Hong’s campaign told Fox News Digital that she does not want to cancel Thanksgiving and has publicly tried to distance herself from earlier, more ideological rhetoric.
- During the same interview Hong said she is not interested in abolishing prisons and would not defund the police, language the campaign has used to signal a more pragmatic approach to public safety.
- Republican operatives and conservative media have amplified the resurfaced posts and the CNN exchange to question Hong’s general-election viability even as polls show her leading the Democratic field and the Aug. 11 primary approaches.