Trump to resume campaign rallies on day marking the end of slavery in US

President Donald Trump walks with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson as he arrives on Air Force One at Dallas Love Field. Picture: Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump walks with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson as he arrives on Air Force One at Dallas Love Field. Picture: Alex Brandon/AP

Published Jun 12, 2020

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Washington - President Donald Trump

defended his decision to resume campaign rallies next week on a

day marking the end of US slavery and at the site of a black

massacre 100 years ago, saying it would be a celebration.

The Republican president drew criticism for scheduling the

rally on June 19, known as Juneteenth, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where

white mobs attacked black citizens and businesses in one of the

country’s bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence.

The rally will take place amid a backdrop of widespread

protests against racism in the country after the death of a

46-year-old black man at the hands of a Minneapolis police

officer, who is accused of murdering him. Trump has been

criticized for trying to militarize the U.S. response to the

protests.

"Think about it as a celebration," Trump told Fox News in an

interview broadcast on Friday, in which he then boasted about

the size of his campaign rallies.

In the interview, Trump denied the Juneteenth date for the

rally was on purpose.

The Fox interviewer, an African American, later said she was

not sure if he was aware of the painful history of Tulsa to

black Americans because her questions in the interview, which

took place on Thursday, focused on the Juneteenth aspect of the

visit.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United

States in 1865 and is celebrated as African Americans’

Independence Day.

"This isn't just a wink to white supremacists - he's

throwing them a welcome home party,” Senator Kamala Harris, a

contender to be Joe Biden's vice presidential pick, said on

Twitter on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Republican Party scheduled Trump's speech

accepting the Republican presidential nomination in Jacksonville

on Aug. 27. That day will mark the 60th anniversary of what is

called "Ax Handle Saturday," when a white mob wielding ax

handles began a riot over black youth attempting to order food

from a whites-only lunch counter in the Florida city. 

Reuters

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