Donald Trump defends his decision to resume campaign rallies on Juneteenth

The United States President Donald Trump on June 11 reportedly defended his decision to resume campaign rallies on Juneteenth, a day marking the end of the country’s slavery, and said that it would be a ‘celebration’. While speaking to an international media outlet, Trump boasted about the size of his campaign rallies, while he has also been repeatedly criticised for scheduling the rally on June 19 in Tulsa and Oklahoma, where white mobs attacked black citizens and businesses on one of the country’s bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence. 

Trump’s rally also comes amid a backdrop of widespread anti-racism protests in the country over the death of African-American Geroge Floyd. Senator Kamala Harris, a contender to be Joe Biden’s vice-presidential pick, also criticised Trump and said that the rally is not just a wink to white supremacists. Harris also said that the US President is ‘throwing the state a welcome home party’. 

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Tulsa has its own troubling history of racial injustice. In 1921, Tulsa’s once-thriving African-American business community was destroyed by a racist white mob who killed hundreds of African-American residents. They attempted to rebuild the city in the following decades; however, their work was erased during the urban renewal of the 1960s.

READ: Trump's Campaign Sells 'Baby Lives Matter' Onesies Amid Black Lives Matter Protests

READ: Virtual Ceremony For 4th Anniversary Of Nightclub Massacre Held In Florida

‘Republicans are proud of the history’ 

Meanwhile, Trump’s Juneteenth rally will be marking his first rally in three months since COVID-19 lockdown. During a White House event, Trump also said, “A beautiful new venue, brand new. We’re looking forward to it”. He added, “They’ve done a great job with COVID-19, as you know, the state of Oklahoma”. Furthermore, amid the criticism, a Trump campaign advisor also reportedly said that the Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth. 

Trump’s upcoming rally also raises public health concerns, considering the coronavirus infections that are on the rise in nearly 12 states. The United States is also the hardest-hit nations. According to Johns Hopkins University tally, America has over two million confirmed COVID-19 cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 113,822 lives in the country. 

(Image: AP) 

READ: Public Health Workers Fighting Virus Face Growing Threats

READ: Immigrant In The US Anxiously Awaits Supreme Court Decision