Donald Trump knocks 'non-working federal holidays' as nation celebrates Juneteenth
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had his staff working on Juneteenth — and suggested on social media that the rest of America should have been working, too.
Trump in a post on Truth Social opined that there are "too many non-working holidays in America." He said they were harming the nation's economy.
"It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed," Trump said on June 19. "The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year."
The president did not specifically name the Juneteenth holiday as he one he thought businesses should not observe with time off for their employees. But he sent the message as many companies, and much of the federal government, was closed for the Juneteenth holiday. The White House was an exception.
Most national banks, federal offices and the United States Postal Service were closed in honor of Juneteenth, which commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when the last Black slaves of the Confederacy were ordered free following the arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas. However, major retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Target and Starbucks were open.
America has 11 annual federal holidays that businesses can also choose to observe. Private companies are not forced to close on federal holidays, and many don't.
Juneteenth is the most recent of those. It was officially recognized a federal holiday by Congress and signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in 2021.
It has long been celebrated by Black Americans, but it rose to national prominence in 2020 amid protests against racial inequities, sparked in part by the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Trump has previously honored Juneteenth, including in his first term as president. But Trump created controversy in 2020 after scheduling his first rally since COVID-19 lockdowns in Tulsa, Oklahoma – the site of one of the worst massacres of Black Americans in the country's history – on Juneteenth.
He later changed the date of the event.
Trump's presidential campaign then said he'd make Juneteenth a federal holiday as it rolled out his reelection platform for Black America.
The president treated this year's holiday as a work day, meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room as he contemplated U.S. military action against Iran.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held an on-camera briefing, where was asked by reporters whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth.
“I’m not tracking his signature on a proclamation today," she responded. "I know this is a federal holiday."
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Saman Shafiq