Trump says U.S. has ‘too many non-working holidays’ on Juneteenth

President Donald Trump didn’t formally mark Juneteenth on Thursday, complaining as a substitute that there are “too many non-working holidays,” whereas his predecessor, Joe Biden, celebrated the event at a Black church in Texas.

The split-screen second confirmed starkly totally different approaches to the one hundred and sixtieth anniversary of the second in Texas when Union troops arrived to implement the top of slavery there.

“Too many non-working holidays in America. It’s costing our Nation $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to maintain all of those companies closed,” Trump stated in a Fact Social submit on Thursday with out explicitly mentioning Juneteenth.

Earlier within the day, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump had no plans to signal a Juneteenth proclamation and indicated it was a standard working day. Trump had issued statements commemorating Juneteenth, earlier than it was a federal vacation, throughout his first time period.

“We’re working 24/7 proper now,” she stated.

A couple of hours later, Biden acquired a heat welcome on the Reedy Chapel AME Church in Galveston, Texas, the place he criticized those that search to “erase our historical past.”

In 2021, Biden signed laws that established Juneteenth as a federal vacation within the aftermath of the racial justice protests sparked by the demise of George Floyd.

“Some say … it would not need to be a federal vacation,” Biden stated. “They do not need to keep in mind.”

He additionally criticized the Trump administration’s transfer to rename navy bases that have been modified below Biden to take away references to Confederates. Trump has stated he desires to revive the unique names.