Donald Trump appears to knock Juneteenth celebrations
Donald Trump appears to knock Juneteenth celebrations
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President Donald Trump appeared to criticize Juneteenth celebrations in a post on social media, saying there are "too many non-working holidays in America."
"It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed," Trump said on June 19. "The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year."
The president did not specifically name the holiday in his post.
Juneteenth commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when the last Black slaves of the Confederacy were ordered free following the arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas.
It has long been celebrated by Black Americans, but it rose to national prominence in 2020 amid protests against racial inequities, sparked in part by the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. It was officially recognized a federal holiday by then-President Joe Biden in 2021.
It wasn't immediately clear what costs Trump was referring to in his post. Private companies are not forced to close on federal holidays, and many don't.
Most national banks, federal offices and the United States Postal Service were closed in honor of Juneteenth. However, major retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Target and Starbucks were open on the holiday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked by reporters earlier in the day whether Trump was expected to commemorate Juneteenth.
'I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today," she responded. "I know this is a federal holiday."
Trump has previously honored Juneteenth, including in his first term as president. But Trump created controversy in 2020 after scheduling his first rally since COVID-19 lockdowns in Tulsa, Oklahoma – the site of one of the worst massacres of Black Americans in the country's history – on Juneteenth.
He later changed the date of the event.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Saman Shafiq
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