“Too many non-working holidays in America,” said President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post on Juneteenth (Thursday). “It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed.”
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Former President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. It’s a holiday that celebrates the day Union troops marched into Galveston, Texas, to finally enforce freedom for people who had been held there as slaves – two years after they were guaranteed that freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation.
“It could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control,” according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later.”
In 2022, Biden said that Juneteenth is a time to “recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice.”
Since Juneteenth was made a federal holiday more Americans have become aware of the celebration, YouGov said in a 2024 article. By then 90% of Americans had heard of the holiday. YouGov also found that two-thirds of Americans would support public schools including Juneteenth in their history curriculum.
Trump claimed in his post that working Americans don’t want more federal holidays added to the calendar.
“The workers don’t want it either!” he said. “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!”
According to the USA.gov, the nation has 12 federal holidays: New Year’s Day; Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday celebration on the third Monday in January; Inauguration Day on January 20, every four years; President George Washington’s birthday (President’s Day) on the third Monday in February; Memorial Day on the last Monday in May; Juneteenth National Independence Day on June 19; Independence Day on July 4; Labor Day on the first Monday in September; Columbus Day on the second Monday in October; Veterans Day on November 11; Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in November and Christmas Day on December 25.
Comparatively, the U.K. celebrates eight “bank holidays” and Canada celebrates 13 public holidays.
On U.S. federal holidays, many government offices and some private businesses close. Above The Law reported this week that many law firms observed the Juneteenth holiday, for example. That outlet also noted that Juneteenth celebrations have “dimmed” since Trump took office and has made sweeping moves against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs instituted by the Biden administration.
Trump didn’t share data to back up the claim that American workers don’t want more federal holidays. However, the American Bar Association did find in 2022 that many actually want at least one more added: Election Day.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok