Trump asserts he 'made Juneteenth very famous,' claims 'nobody had ever heard of it'
President Trump is now seeking praise for briefly scheduling a rally on Juneteenth, claiming this made it "very famous."
Trump spoke in a Wall Street Journal interview this week about Juneteenth after he received backlash for scheduling his first rally in months on that day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States; the rally is also taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the 1921 Tulsa race massacre took place. Trump later pushed the rally back a day to June 20th "out of respect for this holiday."
"I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous," Trump told The Wall Street Journal. "It's actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to the Journal, Trump in the interview "said a black Secret Service agent told him the meaning of Juneteenth" and that "he polled many people around him, none of whom had heard of Juneteenth." In an attempt to prove this point that nobody ever heard of the holiday, he even stopped the interview with the Journal to ask an aide if she had. He apparently didn't get the answer he expected, as the aide pointed out that the White House put out a statement on Juneteenth last year; in fact, the Journal notes the White House has done so during every year of Trump's presidency.
"Oh really? We put out a statement? The Trump White House put out a statement?" he said. "Ok, ok. Good."
As CNN's Daniel Dale points out, this is just the latest instance of Trump asserting that most people hadn't heard of something not especially obscure, including once claiming that "nobody ever heard of the word emolument before" and that "few people have ever even heard of" a Category 5 hurricane.
-
7 bars with comforting cocktails and great hospitalitythe week recommends Winter is a fine time for going out and drinking up
-
7 recipes that meet you wherever you are during winterthe week recommends Low-key January and decadent holiday eating are all accounted for
-
Nine best TV shows of the yearThe Week Recommends From Adolescence to Amandaland
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
