Thune Marks Native American Day, Drawing Fire From the Right

South Dakota has observed Native American Day since 1990, a tradition Thune has highlighted to explain his choice.

Overview

Senate Majority Leader John Thune posted on X honoring Native American Day and did not issue a separate message about Columbus Day.
The post remained live as of Tuesday, with no deletion or retraction reported.
By Tuesday morning, the message had more than 2 million views and over 7,000 comments, according to Newsweek.
Conservative figures including Raheem Kassam criticized the post, and the Italian American Civil Rights League denounced it as anti-Trump.
The dispute reflects a Republican messaging divide as President Trump champions Columbus Day, while South Dakota’s Republican governor also recognized Native American Day.