While it was ultimately former President Joe Biden who established Juneteenth as a federal holiday, President Donald Trump—who once campaigned on that promise—took to Truth Social on Juneteenth to whine about the number of “non-working holidays” Americans get, claiming that it costs businesses “billions of dollars.”
Juneteenth is derived from June 19, 1865, when Union troops led by General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and declared that all enslaved African Americans in the state were free.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect on January 1, 1863—freeing enslaved people in Confederate states—its enforcement depended on the advance of Union forces. Despite the Civil War ending in April 1865, news and enforcement of emancipation reached the westernmost Confederate state only months later.
While some enslavers in Texas were aware of the Proclamation, it wasn’t until Union troops arrived that the order was meaningfully enforced. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in rebelling states—not nationwide emancipation, which came later with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
“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!”
You can see his post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Many have rebuked Trump’s remarks—which are a classic case of projection considering he spends so much time playing golf and ranting on social media instead of governing.
It’s worth noting that during his first term, Trump attacked those who took to the streets to condemn racism and police brutality following the murder of George Floyd, suggesting they should be shot “when the looting starts,” breathing life into stereotypes about people of color being more inclined toward criminality.
We’d be here all day listing all of the other instances Trump has been accused of racism but consider a federal lawsuit that was filed against Trump in the 1970s alleging his real estate company had a policy of not renting to Black tenants.
