President Donald Trump says there is a bright spot to initially scheduling his upcoming campaign rally on June 19.
Trump pushed the rally back one day amid criticism of his decision to hold a rally on Juneteenth, short for June 19, which is a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, as IJR reported.
But during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said, “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,” he added.
Trump also said he had asked confidants if they knew about Juneteenth, and he said they did not. Then he asked an aide if she had heard of it. The aide told the president that the White House had released a statement about Juneteenth last year.
Trump responded, “Oh, really? We put out a statement? The Trump White House put out a statement? … OK, OK. Good.”
When Trump first announced his campaign rally on June 19, in Tulsa Oklahoma, he received criticism for the date and location of his first physical campaign event in months.
Critics of the president noted that in 1921, Tulsa was the location of one of the deadliest incidents of racist violence in the country.
On June 12, Trump announced on Twitter that he had decided to push the rally back one day, “We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th – a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday.”
He continued, “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 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.”
…of respect for this Holiday, 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…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2020
Trump had previously defended the decision to hold the rally on June 19 and said the rally should be seen as a “celebration.”
