CNN Stumps DSA Candidate: Do You Still Want to Cancel Thanksgiving? UPDATE: Whiffs on Defund Police

Ah, Thanksgiving. Is there any holiday more American? Family around the table, gratitude towards the Creator who blessed this land, the Cowboys losing on national television … it doesn’t get any better than that, especially for a Steeler fan. 

And that’s why Democratic Socialists like Francesca Hong hate it. 

Six years ago, the likely frontrunner for the Democrat gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin demanded that America cancel Thanksgiving. Hong didn’t want it canceled for the pandemic; she wanted it canceled forever, arguing that it never should have taken place at all:

Francesca Hong, the likely Democratic nominee for governor in Wisconsin backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, once argued that Americans should not celebrate Thanksgiving.

“Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” Hong wrote in a now-deleted post to X.

“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 added, referring to the spread of smallpox that killed many indigenous Americans.

How ignorant was this rant? First off, the first spread of smallpox didn’t originate in the Massachusetts Bay colony. Smallpox arrived a century earlier, from Spanish explorers to Hispaniola, spreading throughout the Caribbean first, and then in what is now Mexico about a decade later. By the time the Mayflower deposited its first colonists on Plymouth Rock, smallpox had swept through both North and South America. A later outbreak did take place in New England, but it came from colonists who arrived about a decade after the first landing. By that time, though, the die was certainly cast in the New World, and at any rate, it had nothing to do with Thanksgiving.

That’s not the only resurfaced tweet that’s giving Hong problems in this campaign, either:

Hong also started getting mocked Friday for a resurfaced 2019 post where she said, “I ate two bites of my kid’s cheeseburger at a Culver’s in black river falls and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack…to (sic) many old white people who didn’t think we spoke english.”

“Omg English ***TOO **AN,” she replied.

Man … if Hong can’t handle a Culver’s, how can she handle the governance of Wisconsin? If being in proximity of “old white people” triggers anxiety attacks in her, I have some really bad news about the state she wants to lead. There are a lot of “old white people” in Wisconsin, not to mention a lot of Culver’s locations, which is one of the better fast-food chains in the US. 

Anyway, I digress. Hong showed up on CNN yesterday, and Kaitlin Collins tried to give Hong a chance to reverse course and embrace this truly American holiday. And … she just couldn’t do it. Instead of saying that she overreacted in 2020 due to the pressures of the pandemic, Hong clung bitterly to the “pain” the holiday represents for “many people in our communities”:

Collins: “Do you still believe that Thanksgiving should be cancelled?”

Hong: “Thanksgiving is a time that is incredibly painful for many people in our communities.” pic.twitter.com/wPKUD8PJOT

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 4, 2026

It seemed like an easy enough question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to answer. But not for Francesca Hong (D).

Instead, the democratic socialist candidate — who is running for governor in Wisconsin — gave a rambling 46-second response on Monday night, touching on her professional restaurant experience, her claim that Thanksgiving is “incredibly painful” for many Americans, and her views on the holiday can “evolve.”

In the end, she never gave an actual “yes” or “no” answer.

This was her answer in full:

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. 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.

This is not a trick question. The answer is pretty easy, even for progressive candidates who want to pander to the Left while still appealing to the center. “While I think it is important for Americans to understand the full context of the history surrounding the first Thanksgiving, it’s a great holiday for us to celebrate family and community in all forms and aspects.” That’s the answer that a competent progressive candidate would offer.

Of course, a competent candidate wouldn’t get brain lock at Culver’s over old white people, either. 

Good luck, Wisconsin. Choose well next week, rather than choosing crazy. 

Update: This is not exactly a save, either (via Twitchy):

Pod Save: “You said you wanted to abolish the police who exist to uphold white supremacy. How have your views on policing evolved?”

Hong: “My views have only become stronger in that I am serious about safety.” pic.twitter.com/aTlifF0fD3

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 4, 2026

I’ll bet Wisconsin Democrats just can’t wait for the general election to kick off with Hong at the top of the ticket.

The latest episode of The Ed Morrissey Show podcast is now up! Today’s show features:

•  Sports journalists have painted a target on Sophie Cunningham. Why?
•  Andrew Malcolm and I discuss two unhinged sports columnists who went after the Fever star and her teammate Caitlin Clark by pulling the race card on both. 
• We also discuss Anthony Fauci’s testimony last week … such as it was. Will Fauci ever face justice, or will he need to sign a WNBA contract before anyone tries to serve it up? 

The Ed Morrissey Show is now a fully downloadable and streamable show at  Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the TEMS Podcast YouTube channel, and on Rumble and our own in-house portal at the #TEMS page!

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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