White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Thursday that President Donald Trump will resume campaign rallies on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the emancipation of slaves, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city with a history of a racial massacre.
She claimed Trump will “share some of the progress that has been made” for black Americans — but that explanation is being rejected by many African American leaders.
Texas congressman and Congressional Black Caucus member Al Green tweeted: “Trump rally with rebel flags (a symbol of slavery and racism) in Tulsa, OK (the place of #TulsaMassacre) on Juneteenth (a day of emancipation recognition) is more than a slap in the face to African Americans; it is overt racism from the highest office in the land.
The Tulsa rally, Trump’s first since March 2, comes amid a national reckoning on systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police officers, and a pandemic disproportionately impacting minority communities from both health and economic perspectives.
McEnany continued Thursday to make an illogical argument defending the President’s decision rejecting renaming 10 US military bases named after Confederate leaders, claiming Thursday that the bases are defined by people who serve there and not those they are named after.
