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NDTV
4 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Trump Is Silent About Juneteenth On A Day He Previously Honoured As President
Washington: President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it "very famous." But on this year's Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for marking the end of slavery in the country he leads again. No words about it from his lips, on paper or through his social media site. 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." Asked in a follow-up question whether Trump might recognize the occasion another way or on another day, Leavitt said, "I just answered that question for you." On Wednesday, Black community leaders from across the country, senior Trump administration officials and other individuals met at the White House to discuss improving coordination between the leaders and federal, state and local partners, according to a senior White House official. Housing Secretary Scott Turner and Lynne Patton, director of minority outreach, were among those who attended, said the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a private gathering. The Republican president's silence was a sharp contrast from his prior acknowledgement of the holiday. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States by commemorating 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. Trump's quiet on the issue also deviated from White House guidance that Trump planned to sign a Juneteenth proclamation. Leavitt didn't explain the change. Trump held no public events Thursday, but he shared statements about Iran, the TikTok app and Fed chairman Jerome Powell on his social media site. In the evening, Trump complained on the site about "too many non-working holidays" and said it is "costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed." But most retailers are open on Juneteenth while most federal workers get a day off because the government is closed. He had more to say about Juneteenth in yearly statements in his first term. In 2017, Trump invoked the "soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing" that swept through the Galveston crowd when a major general delivered the news 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 added in his 2018 statement. In 2019: "Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life." In 2020: "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." In 2020, after suspending his campaign rallies because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump chose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to resume his public gatherings and scheduled a rally for June 19. But the decision met with such fierce criticism that Trump postponed the event by a day. Black leaders had said it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event, given the significance of Juneteenth and Tulsa being the place where, 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. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal 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." Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021 with the stroke of President Joe Biden's pen. Later in 2020, Trump sought to woo Black voters with a series of campaign promises, including establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. He lost the election, and that made it possible for Biden, a Democrat, to sign the legislation establishing Juneteenth as the newest federal holiday. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them "illegal and immoral discrimination programs." 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. Biden was spending this year's holiday in Galveston, Texas, where he was set to speak at a historic African Methodist Episcopal church.
New Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Trump is silent about Juneteenth on a day he previously honored as president
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it 'very famous.' But on this year's Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for marking the end of slavery in the country he leads again. No words about it from his lips, on paper or through his social media site. 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.' Asked in a follow-up question whether Trump might recognize the occasion another way or on another day, Leavitt said, 'I just answered that question for you.' On Wednesday, Black community leaders from across the country, senior Trump administration officials and other individuals met at the White House to discuss improving coordination between the leaders and federal, state and local partners, according to a senior White House official. Housing Secretary Scott Turner and Lynne Patton, director of minority outreach, were among those who attended, said the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a private gathering.
Toronto Star
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Photos of Juneteenth celebrations commemorating end to slavery
Juneteenth celebrations took place across the U.S., commemorating the day in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas learned of their freedom. While long honored by Black Americans, the holiday has gained broader recognition since becoming a federal holiday in 2021 under President Joe Biden, who attended an event in Galveston, Texas, where Juneteenth began.
The Herald Scotland
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Donald Trump appears to bash Juneteenth celebrations
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
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Too many non-working holidays': Donald Trump on Juneteenth, skips celebration; once claimed to make it 'famous'
President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP) US President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it "very famous. ' But on this year's Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for marking the end of slavery in the country he leads again. Juneteenth, the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated at the White House each June 19 since it was enshrined into law four years ago. But Thursday, it went unmarked by the president -- except for a post on social media in which he said he would get rid of some "non-working holidays." "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. ," Trump said in mangled syntax, not mentioning Juneteenth by name nor acknowledging that Thursday was a federal holiday. "It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the US after the Civil War — specifically, the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, to inform enslaved African Americans there that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people had been freed. A few months later, the 13th Amendment was ratified, officially abolishing slavery in the remaining four border states that had not been covered by Lincoln's proclamation. and belatedly announced that enslaved people were freed. Earlier Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters during the daily briefing that she was not aware of any plans by Trump to celebrate the day or otherwise officially mark it. "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today," Leavitt said of the president, who has in the past week signed proclamations commemorating Father's Day, Flag Day and National Flag Week, and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill -- none of which are among the 11 federal holidays in United States. The lack of revelry at the White House for a holiday that has been cherished by generations of Black Americans was perhaps not a surprise. Trump, in his last term, issued statements on the anniversary of Juneteenth every year for three years, before it was ever a federal holiday. "Melania and I send our warmest greetings to all those celebrating Juneteenth, a historic day recognizing the end of slavery," he wrote in 2017, extolling Maj Gen Gordon Granger, who announced in Galveston in 1865 that "all slaves were free." In 2018 he evoked Granger again, and praised "the courage and sacrifice of the nearly 200,000 former enslaved and free African Americans who fought for liberty." Trump has previously also 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. But since returning to office he has moved to purge the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and sanitize Black history -- or even erase references to it entirely. Juneteenth is the newest US federal holiday, enshrined into law in 2021 by Congress and then-President Joe Biden. Trump cannot undo it without an act of Congress.
