Donald Trump’s world is full of inconsistencies and hypocrisy, and when it came to honoring Juneteenth — the commemoration of the end of slavery in the US — he instead moaned about how there are too many non-working holidays. Which is funny, because the president has reportedly spent a quarter of his time in office at the golf course.
When it served him, Trump used to honor Juneteenth every passing year during his first term. At one point, he even took credit for making the day more popular because of his annual recognition. But last year, he kept mum on the subject. This year, it quickly became a topic of discussion when midday had passed and the president hadn’t uttered a word about the holiday.
According to AP, the clamoring for the president’s official statement on the federal holiday reached a point where Karoline Leavitt, the controversial White House press secretary, had to answer a reporter’s question on whether the president would commemorate the day officially. “I’m not tracking his signature on a proclamation today,” Leavitt said. She continued, “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.”
However, it didn’t end there. Donald Trump — never one to keep his opinions to himself — finally commented on the matter. According to Trump, there are far too many non-working holidays, and he declared that must soon change because it’s costing the nation billions of dollars. Which is slightly odd, because in 2020 he was the same person who, while on the campaign trail, promised to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
Donald Trump shares new post on Juneteenth:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 19, 2025
“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!” pic.twitter.com/iZVA0avgNx
And if it is a fiscal matter as he insists, The Mirror reports that there’s another cost to taxpayer money going on right under his nose: his own golfing. If he’s truly concerned about wasteful expenditures tied to avoiding work, there’s a discussion to be had about how he spent a whopping 24 days at the golf course in his first 99 days. Keeping up with the travel and security detail reportedly cost a fortune — someone call DOGE, or is that not legal?
Everyone needs their rest. By no means is the president expected to be a robot that doesn’t require the very normal state of rest that energizes us. However, if he truly believes that the entire U.S. doesn’t need a day to acknowledge the end of slavery as much as he needs yet another round of golf at one of his questionable golf courses, then the plot is officially lost.
Trump doesn’t need to be told how important and meaningful Juneteenth is — because he’s probably already said it himself. In a 2020 interview, Trump called the holiday important and expressed sadness at the fact that “nobody” had ever heard of it. Well, if Trump truly does stop Juneteenth from being a federal holiday, then that might actually become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hopefully, though, Trump can listen to possibly the only person whose opinion he truly values — Donald Trump himself.
