US Politics
Trump trolled after claiming there are too many holidays in the US on Juneteenth
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President Donald Trump has been mocked on social media after complaining on Juneteenth that the United States has too many public holidays.
“Too many non-working holidays in America,” the president griped on Truth Social on Thursday, offering no other comment on the annual holiday set aside to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., brought about by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 and its enactment at the end of the Civil War in 1865.
“It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
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The White House did not hold an event to honor Juneteenth this year, an occasion enshrined in American law four decades ago, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stressing that West Wing staffers were at work as usual.
“I’m not tracking his signature on a proclamation today,” she said of the president. “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.”
Rather than mark the day, Trump otherwise posted on his platform about TikTok, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and eliminating taxes on tips.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, by contrast, spent the day celebrating at a Black church in Galveston, Texas.
But the president’s frustration about Juneteenth invited derision in response, with California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell asked on X: “Why didn’t he tweet this on Columbus Day?”
Journalist Sam Stein also mocked Trump by noting that he “ran on making Juneteenth a national holiday in 2020” in an attempt to broaden his appeal to Black voters.
Pundit Harry Sisson commented: “Not only is he trying to make you work MORE, but also he’s taking an apparent dig at Juneteenth.
“This is coming from the same guy who golfs every weekend. Pathetic.”
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Another user cheerily wished the president a “Happy Juneteenth Day!!!!” with a selfie in which he happened to be wearing a matching “F*** Trump” baseball cap and T-shirt.
Despite his annoyance about the abundance of public holidays, Trump himself announced two more just last month, commemorating the signing of the armistice that brought an end to the First World War on November 11, 1918, and the defeat of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945.
However, he was careful to stipulate: “We will not be closing the country for these two very important holidays because we already have too many holidays in America.”
The gesture was criticized because November 11 is already observed as Veterans’ Day and because American involvement in the Second World War actually continued until August 15, 1945, when Imperial Japan likewise surrendered, finally bringing a close to the war in the Pacific.
