Trump criticizes ‘non-working holidays' on Juneteenth
President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday on Juneteenth, a federal holiday, to criticize the number of 'non-working holidays' in the United States.
'Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Juneteenth is the oldest regular US celebration of the end of slavery. It commemorates June 19, 1865 – the day that Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told a group of slaves that the Civil War had ended and they were free - more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
During Thursday's White House press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump was unlikely to mark the federal holiday.
'I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today,' Leavitt said. '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.'
Trump has previously tried to take credit for making Juneteenth 'very famous,' saying during his first term in 2020 that, 'nobody had ever heard of it.' His comments came while the nation was reeling from ongoing civil unrest after George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
Trump had previously pledged to make Juneteenth a federal holiday during his 2020 presidential campaign. Juneteenth didn't become an official holiday until 2021, under President Joe Biden's administration.
Since his reelection, Trump has made the elimination of DEI programs a centerpiece of his administration, cracking down on diversity efforts in the federal government with a series of executive orders.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Soccer Star Dishes On 'Weird' Oval Office Moment With Donald Trump
U.S. Men's National Soccer Team star Timothy Weah has opened up about what he described as the 'weird' experience of standing behind Donald Trump in the Oval Office while the president fielded questions on the Iran-Israel war and attacked the idea of transgender women competing in women's sports. Weah was at the White House with his Juventus teammates on Wednesday as part of a promotional event for the FIFA Club World Cup, ahead of the Italian side's 5-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates' Al-Ain FC. Advertisement Trump invited questions from reporters about the game and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the U.S. will host alongside Mexico and Canada. But the Juventus players stood uncomfortably behind POTUS as he instead answered queries about the more pressing political questions of the day. Weah, the son of former Liberian soccer star-turned-former president George Weah, later told reporters that the players had been made to attend the event. 'They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,' he explained, reported The Athletic. 'I was caught by surprise, honestly. It was a bit weird,' he added. 'When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football, man.' Related...
Forbes
22 minutes ago
- Forbes
Trump Can Retain Control Of National Guard In LA, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court on Thursday night ruled that the California National Guard troops—deployed in Los Angeles last week amid protests against the federal government's crackdown on immigrants—can remain under President Donald Trump's control while the state's legal challenge against the deployment moves forward. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that on matters such as federalizing the California National Guard, any decision must be 'highly deferential' towards the president, and the court concluded that ' it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority.' However, the ruling disagreed with the White House's primary argument that such a matter 'is completely insulated from judicial review.' The appellate court ruling blocks an already paused ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that ordered the president to 'return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.' The ruling only focused on the issue of presidential authority and did not address the claim made in Trump's order that the protests amounted to a 'form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement saying, 'While it is disappointing that our temporary restraining order has been stayed pending the federal government's appeal, this case is far from over…our state and local law enforcement officers responded effectively to isolated episodes of violence at otherwise peaceful protests and the President deliberately sought to create the very chaos and crises he claimed to be addressing.' Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X: 'The court rightly rejected Trump's claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court. The President is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump's authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.' In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president hailed the ruling as a 'BIG WIN,' and attacked the California Governor, saying: 'The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared.' Trump then signaled he could deploy forces to tackle protests in other states, saying: 'this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done.' The appeals court ruling noted that precedent from earlier rulings cited by the Trump administration, 'does not compel us to accept the federal government's position that the President could federalize the National Guard based on no evidence whatsoever, and that courts would be unable to review a decision that was obviously absurd or made in bad faith.' Trump Keeps Control Of National Guard In Los Angeles After Appeals Court Pauses Ruling (Forbes)
Bloomberg
30 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bassiri Tabrizi: Promising To See Diplomacy Back on Table
President Trump says he is putting off US action on Iran, for now. The White House says he'll decide within two weeks whether to attack, adding that his goal remains halting uranium enrichment, and he remains open to diplomacy if possible. Gulf leaders are assessing the possibility of the Islamic Republic's clerical regime falling as an impact of the war between Israel and Iran. Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, Senior Analyst at Control Risks told Bloomberg's Horizons Middle East and Africa anchor Joumanna Bercetche on the next steps ahead. (Source: Bloomberg)
