Trump says American companies cannot afford all this vacation that cost billions of dollars “
President Donald Trump Honoréeenth in each of his first four years as president, even before he became a federal holiday. He even said once he made him “very famous”.
But during the Junetesh festival this year Thursday, the usually talkative president kept the silence of an important day for black Americans to mark the end of slavery in the country he leads again.
No words on this subject of her lips, on paper or via his social media site.
When he was asked if Trump commemorates in any way, the press secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, told journalists: “I am not following her signature on a proclamation today. I know it’s a federal holiday. I want to thank you all for being presented at work. We are certainly there. We are working 24/7 right now. ”
Asked in a follow -up question if Trump could recognize the opportunity in another way or another day, Leavitt said: “I have just answered this question for you.”
On Wednesday, the leaders of the black community across the country, senior officials of the Trump administration and other people gathered in the White House to discuss the improvement of coordination between the leaders and the federal, state and local partners, according to a senior White House official. Housing secretary Scott Turner and Lynne Patton, director of awareness of minorities, were one of those who attended, said that the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a private rally.
The silence of the Republican president was a strong contrast of his prior recognition of the holidays. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States by commemorating on June 19, 1865, when the soldiers of the Union brought the news of freedom to blacks before in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom occurred for more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln released slaves in the Confederation by signing the proclamation of emancipation during the civil war.
Trump’s calm on the issue also dismissed the White House advice that Trump planned to sign a juneteenth proclamation. Leavitt did not explain the change. Trump did not organize any public event on Thursday, but he shared statements on Iran, the Tiktok application and the president of the Fed, Jerome Powell, on his social media site.
In the evening, Trump complained on the site of “too many vacation that does not work” and said it “cost our country billions of dollars to keep all these closed companies”. But most of the retailers are open to Juneteenth while most federal workers get a day off because the government is closed.
He had more to say about Juneteenth in annual statements during his first mandate.
In 2017, Trump invoked the “moving festivities and emotional rejoicing” which swept the crowd of Galveston when a major major announced that all the enslaved people were free.
He told Galveston’s story in each of the next three years. “Together, we honor the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions from generations of African Americans to the history of American greatness,” he added in his 2018 declaration.
In 2019: “In our country, African-American contributions continue to enrich all the facets of American life.” In 2020: “June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that had to attend emancipation. It is both a memory of a burn on our history and a celebration of the unrivaled capacity of our nation to triumph over the darkness. ”
In 2020, after having suspended his campaign gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump chose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place of his public gatherings and planned a rally for June 19. But the decision met so fierce criticism that Trump has postponed the event a day.
Black leaders had declared that he was offensive for Trump to choose on June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event, given the importance of Juneteenth and Tulsa being the place where, in 1921, a white crowd piloted and burned the Greenwood district of this city, an economically flourishing area called Black Wall Street. Up to 300 black tulsans have been killed and thousands of people were temporarily held in internment camps supervised by the National Guard.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal a few days before the rally, Trump tried to make a positive turn on the situation by saying that he had returned “famous”. He said he had changed the date of the rally out of respect for two African-American friends and supporters.
“I did something good. I made him famous. I made Junteenth very famous,” said Trump. “It is actually an important event, it is an important moment. But no one had heard it. Very few people have heard of it. ”
Generations of black Americans celebrated Juneteenth before becoming a federal holiday in 2021 with the pen of President Joe Biden.
Later in 2020, Trump sought to court black voters with a series of campaign promises, especially in the creation of juneteenth as federal holidays.
He lost the elections, which allowed Biden, a democrat, to sign the legislation establishing the juneteenth as the most recent federal holiday. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump signed a decree ending the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives through the federal government, calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination programs”.
Biden published annual Juneteenth proclamations during his four years in power and observed certain holidays with major concerts on the South lawn. The final observance of Biden in 2024 presented performances by Gladys Knight and Patti Labelle. Vice-president Kamala Harris danced on stage with singer Gospel Kirk Franklin.
Biden spent this year’s holidays in Galveston, Texas, where he spoke in an historic African methodist episcopal church.
