Holiday Whiplash Upends Governor Race

A Wisconsin governor candidate who once tweeted “Cancel Thanksgiving” now calls the holiday her favorite, and voters are asking which version of her is real.

Quick Take

Francesca Hong, the Democratic frontrunner for Wisconsin governor, faces backlash over a deleted 2020 post calling to “Cancel Thanksgiving.”
Hong gave a noncommittal answer on CNN when asked directly if she still holds that view, saying “views can evolve.”
Days later, she told Politico that Thanksgiving is actually her “favorite holiday” and she does not want to cancel it.
Critics, including some Democrats, point to a pattern of past remarks resurfacing during the competitive governor race.

The Original Post Resurfaces

Francesca Hong, a Democratic Socialist and former Wisconsin state representative, wrote a 2020 social media post that read: “Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621.” She called the holiday “the original superspreader event that killed Indigenous folx and women.” The post has since been deleted, but screenshots and reporting kept it alive. It resurfaced in August 2026 as Hong led the Democratic primary field.

A Second Anti-Thanksgiving Post Emerges

The backlash grew after a separate November 2020 post came to light. In it, Hong called Thanksgiving “the colonizer holiday” while discussing pandemic precautions. The second post broadened the story beyond a single tweet, giving critics more material to argue that her original comments reflected a sustained view rather than a one-time remark made in the heat of the moment.

Reporters also noted Hong had made other pointed comments in the same period, including criticism of Valentine’s Day and a story about feeling uncomfortable around “old white people” at a restaurant. Republicans and conservative commentators bundled these remarks together, arguing they show a broader ideological pattern rather than an isolated statement made years ago.

CNN Interview Draws Scrutiny

When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Hong directly whether she still believed Thanksgiving should be canceled, Hong did not give a clear yes or no. She said Thanksgiving is “incredibly painful for many people in our communities” and noted her background as a chef, but stopped short of retracting the original post. Coverage in Forbes and the New York Times described the answer as evasive rather than a direct response.

Hong Reverses Course Days Later

In an interview with Politico published shortly after the CNN appearance, Hong changed her tone completely. She said Thanksgiving is actually her “favorite holiday” and stated plainly, “I don’t want to cancel it”. The shift from a noncommittal CNN answer to a full embrace of the holiday within days drew renewed attention from both critics and some fellow Democrats who felt blindsided by the flip.

Political Fallout Spreads Across the Aisle

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany and conservative media outlets seized on the reversal, pairing it with other Hong statements about abolishing the Senate and critiques of policing. But the criticism was not limited to the right. Forbes reported backlash “even from Democrats,” suggesting the episode raised credibility concerns across the political spectrum rather than serving purely as a partisan attack line.

The timing matters. The original post is more than five years old, but it resurfaced during an active, competitive primary, which is when old statements tend to carry the most political weight. A Reddit discussion summarizing the episode noted Hong herself acknowledged that “views can evolve,” an answer that satisfied few critics looking for a direct retraction.

What Remains Unverified

The original 2020 post was deleted, so the public record relies on screenshots and news reproductions rather than an archived platform capture. That does not undercut the substance of what was reported, but it means the full context of the original post, including any surrounding conversation, has not been independently verified beyond secondary sources.

Francesca Hong remarks Thanksgiving is her 'favorite holiday,' answers she does not 'want to cancel it' https://t.co/F1iRKiKiam #FoxNews

— Greg Shields (@GregShield83077) August 6, 2026

For voters trying to sort genuine reflection from political convenience, the sequence is telling on its own. A candidate went from refusing to answer a direct question about canceling a national holiday to calling it her favorite within the same week. Whatever the underlying motive, the timeline itself has become the story Wisconsin voters are now weighing ahead of the primary.