Trump Silent on Juneteenth, Breaking Tradition from His Presidency

President Donald Trump remained silent this Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, marking a sharp contrast from his previous recognition of the day during his time in office.

Despite having acknowledged and even celebrated Juneteenth in each of his four years as president—years before President Joe Biden signed it into law as a federal holiday in 2021—Trump made no public remarks or social media posts about it this year.

When asked if Trump would issue a proclamation or recognize the day in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered no indication of planned observances, stating only that the administration was working “24/7.”

This departure comes despite prior White House guidance suggesting Trump might sign a Juneteenth proclamation. While he remained silent on the holiday, Trump did post about unrelated issues, including Iran, the TikTok app, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Juneteenth, observed on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

In earlier years, Trump issued official statements recognizing the importance of the day. In 2017, he acknowledged the “soulful festivities” in Galveston and consistently praised African Americans' contributions to American society in subsequent messages. 

In 2020, he controversially scheduled a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 19—a city infamously known for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre—before postponing the event amid public outcry. At the time, Trump claimed he had made Juneteenth “very famous.”

Despite his past recognition of the holiday and campaign promises in 2020 to support making Juneteenth a federal holiday, it was President Biden who ultimately signed the bill into law.

This year, Biden marked the holiday with a visit to Galveston, where he was scheduled to speak at a historic African Methodist Episcopal church, continuing his administration’s public acknowledgment of the occasion.