Donald Trump failed to mark Juneteenth, commemorating the ending of slavery in the US, until he posted on Thursday night that there are “too many non-working holidays” in the country.
The US president has put out statements previously as president and even tried to take credit for boosting awareness of the significance of 19 June before it became a federal holiday under the Biden administration.
But on this year’s Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the garrulous president kept silent on all platforms about a day of particular importance to Black Americans until his late post.
Asked earlier on Juneteenth whether Trump would commemorate the day in any way, the 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.
The US housing secretary, Scott Turner, and Lynne Patton, the White House director of minority outreach, were among those who attended, said the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a private gathering.
Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States by commemorating 19 June 1865, when Union soldiers very belatedly brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom came more than two years after Abraham Lincoln liberated enslaved people in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the US civil war.
Trump’s silence on the issue also deviated from White House guidance that the president planned to sign a Juneteenth proclamation. Leavitt didn’t explain the change. Trump held no public events on Thursday, but he shared statements about Iran, the TikTok app and the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, on his social media site.
Then, 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 were open on Juneteenth.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
