Trump says HE ‘made Juneteenth very famous’ as ‘nobody had heard of’ holiday celebrating slavery’s end
DONALD Trump has reportedly claimed he made Juneteenth “very famous” by originally scheduling a campaign rally on the same day as the holiday celebrating the end of slavery.
“I did something good, I made Juneteenth very famous. It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal.
The president told the newspaper that a black Secret Service agent informed him of the meaning of Juneteenth.
He also claimed he polled those around him and none had heard of the annual holiday.
In fact, millions of African Americans have long celebrated Juneteenth and it is recognized as a holiday in 47 states, including the District of Columbia.
Juneteenth, is an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States in 1865.
More than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Texas slave owners refused to acknowledge it and the end of the Civil War.
On June 19, 1865, Major General, Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston Island with more than 2,000 troops. He stood at the Headquarters District of Texas in Galveston and read the General Order No. 3.
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” Granger said. The 250,000 enslaved black people in Galveston rejoiced at the news.
Trump was widely criticized for scheduling his rally on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the site of one of the deadliest white-on-black massacres in 1921, which left about 300 dead.
He eventually pushed the rally up a day after acknowledging his many African American friends and supporters.
“Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday,” Trump tweeted.
“And in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents. I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests.”