US President Donald Trump recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the US federal holiday schedule. On the social network Truth Social, he wrote: We have too many unofficial holidays in the US. This has cost the country billions of dollars because it has closed everywhere. The workers are not interested in anything either.
Mr. Trump's message was posted on June 19 (US time), coinciding with the Juneteenth holiday - the anniversary of the federal military event to Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of slavery in the US in 1865. The holiday has been recognized as a federal holiday since 2021, when former President Joe Biden signed it.
Mr. Trump said that the increase in holidays will affect work efficiency, as "not every working day of the year becomes a holiday". He concluded that the US needs to change if it wants to be great again.
The US President's statement comes as the White House has not announced any official activities to celebrate Juneteenth this year. When asked about this, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Trump has no plans to sign an official statement on June 19. I know it is a federal holiday. Thank you all for coming to work. We are still here, working 24/7, she said.
During his first term, Trump repeatedly issued a message to commemorate Juneteenth, although at that time it was not recognized as a federal holiday.
In 2017, he praised Juneteenth for its historical significance and acknowledged the strong emotions of the colored community when receiving news of being paid for their freedom.
In 2018, he described Juneteenth as a symbol of the indomitable spirit and the great contributions of African-Americanism to the greatness of Americas country. The 2019 and 2020 messages continue to show respect for the colorful community and call on the United States to look back on history to overcome the darkness of slavery.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2020, Mr. Trump once affirmed that he had contributed to making Juneteenth popular. I have made Juneteenth very famous. This is an important event, but before I promoted it, no one knew about it, he said.
