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 tip 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 mentioned Thursday on Reality Social with out explicitly mentioning Juneteenth.
Earlier within the day, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned 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 mentioned.
A couple of hours later, Biden obtained a heat welcome at Reedy Chapel AME Church in Galveston, Texas, the place he criticized those that he mentioned 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 does not should be a federal vacation,” Biden mentioned. “They do not need to bear in mind.”
He additionally criticized the Trump administration’s transfer to rename army bases that have been modified beneath Biden to take away references to Confederates. Trump has mentioned he needs to revive the unique names.
