President Trump issued a cautionary note to working-class Americans while marking Juneteenth, criticizing the high number of federal holidays.
On Thursday evening, Trump announced a directive, expressing concern over the expenditures associated with closing businesses for holidays and mentioned he was contemplating reducing future celebrations.
‘Too many non-working holidays in America,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
‘It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either!’
The president then speculated that the holiday madness could have a negative impact on the country if something isn’t done.
‘Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year,’ he said. ‘It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’
This year, his message didn’t reference Juneteenth, despite his previous years recognizing the day that honors the liberation of enslaved African Americans.
He even once claimed to have made Juneteenth ‘very famous.’
Trump honored the holiday in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday in 2021.
President Donald Trump has slammed the amount of federal holidays in the United States on the same day millions of Americans are commemorating Juneteenth
Trump issued a directive on Truth Social on Thursday night warning workers the frequency of national holidays ‘must change if we are going to Make America Great Again’
But this year, Trump kept silent about the holiday other than his late Truth Social post, despite the significance of the day for black Americans.
Asked whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: ‘I’m not tracking his signature on a proclamation today.
‘I know this is a federal holiday. I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We’re working 24/7 right now.’
Juneteenth, also referred to as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas.
Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.
In 2020, Trump sought to woo black voters with a series of campaign promises, including vowing to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
After he lost the election, Biden went on to sign the legislation declaring Juneteenth the newest federal holiday.
Juneteenth, also referred to as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas
He argues there are ‘too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed.’
In the past week, Trump has in some way acknowledged Father’s Day, Flag Day, National Flag Week and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
None of these days are among of the 11 national holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
In 2017, Trump celebrated the ‘soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing’ when in 1865 a major general delivered the news to a Galveston crowd that all enslaved people were free.
He told the Galveston story in each of the next three years.
‘Together, we honor the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions of generations of African Americans to the story of American greatness,’ he said in his 2018 statement.
A year later, he said: ‘Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life.’
His 2020 statement read: ‘June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation.
‘It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nation’s unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness.’
He spent years acknowledging and praising the significance of Juneteenth – which celebrates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans – during his first term and even took credit for popularizing the holday
He took issue with national holidays on the same day that businesses around the nation closed down to commemorate Juneteenth
In 2020, however, Trump chose the controversial location of Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to hold a rally following the Covid pandemic. That decision for that venue met with fierce criticism.
In Tulsa in 1921, a white mob looted and burned that city’s Greenwood district, an economically thriving area referred to as Black Wall Street.
As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands were temporarily held in internment camps overseen by the National Guard.
Black leaders argued it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event.
Days before the rally, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the situation by claiming that he had made Juneteenth ‘famous.’
He said he changed the rally date out of respect for two African American friends and supporters.
‘I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous,’ Trump said.
‘It’s actually an important event, it’s an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it.’
Pictured: People celebrating Juneteenth in Chicago, Illinois
Revelers took to the streets in Chicago to celebrate Juneteenth festivities
A father walks with his daughters in the historic Pullman neighborhood Juneteenth parade and block party
Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021.
Biden issued annual Juneteenth proclamations during his four years in office, and observed some of the holidays with large concerts on the South Lawn.
Biden’s final observance in 2024 featured performances by Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle. Vice President Kamala Harris danced onstage with gospel singer Kirk Franklin.
Trump, menawhile, has made sweeping orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them ‘illegal and immoral discrimination programs.’
