*Donald Trump sparked outrage when he originally set June 19 as the date for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now he’s taking credit for making Juneteenth “very famous.”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump addressed the response to that rally and noted, “I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous,” he said. “It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it.”
June 19 marks the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas were informed of their freedom, more than two years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
At one point in his interview, Trump revealed that he had “polled” the (white) people around him, and “none” had knowledge of the historic date.
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The latest in Trump’s long series of ridiculous claims that nobody had ever heard of a widely known thing: he says nobody had ever heard of Juneteenth until he just made it famous…then is told his White House has put out three statements on Juneteenth. https://t.co/WSelOF4Gnu pic.twitter.com/V2fSTt2VFW
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 18, 2020
He then asked an aide if she was aware of Juneteenth. She reminded the president that the White House issued statements about the historic day last year, something Trump wasn’t aware of.
“Oh really? We put out a statement? The Trump White House put out a statement?” he said. “Okay, okay. Good.”
Check out some of the Twitter reactions to Trump claiming that nobody had knowledge of Juneteeth until he planned a rally on the holiday. That rally is now set for June 20.
The latest in Trump’s long series of ridiculous claims that nobody had ever heard of a widely known thing: he says nobody had ever heard of Juneteenth until he just made it famous…then is told his White House has put out three statements on Juneteenth. https://t.co/WSelOF4Gnu pic.twitter.com/V2fSTt2VFW
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 18, 2020
TRUMP: What is Juneteenth?
BLACK SECRET SERVICE AGENT: It’s a holiday that marks the freeing of slaves, it’s been celebrated for decades
TRUMP: Mm that’s good. I just invented it— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) June 18, 2020
Whew. The collision of racism and narcissism captured in Trump claiming “nobody had ever heard of it [Juneteenth].” https://t.co/5HTnd9tGaY
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) June 18, 2020
He’s just a big hunk of under-cooked rotting white meat https://t.co/JtGosMUDQ1
— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) June 18, 2020
Retweet if you’d heard of Juneteenth. https://t.co/qkUApK0YvX
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 18, 2020
A clown. A racist clown. Klanny The Klown. https://t.co/cfOoAe3nhz
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) June 18, 2020
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