Joe Biden made veiled jabs at President Trump during public comments on Juneteenth, drawing a big laugh from a crowd when he made the sign of the cross instead of speaking his successor’s name.
Biden was at the Reedy Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas, where he took part in a service and denounced “ongoing efforts to erase history.” The church was one of the sites where an order announcing the end of slavery in Texas was read, according to the church.
Biden, who made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021 to commemorate the end of slavery, said at the church that “the events of Juneteenth are of monumental importance to America’s story,” according to CBS News.
“Still today, some say to me and you that this doesn’t deserve to be a federal holiday. They don’t want to remember...the moral stain of slavery,” Biden said.
The former president spoke on the same day that Trump moaned that there are “too many non-working holidays.”
“It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Juneteenth. A source familiar with the president’s thinking told The Daily Beast that, despite the post, he does not plan on making any changes to federal holidays.
One of the most notable moments in Biden’s address at the church came when he chose to bless himself instead of using Trump’s name.
“I took the view as president that we need to be honest about our history, especially because of ongoing efforts to erase our history, not just him, this guy...” Biden said before pausing and making the sign of the cross, drawing laughter and applause from the crowd.
Biden also slammed “ongoing efforts to erase history from our textbooks and our classrooms” and spoke about efforts to change the names of American military bases that honored Confederate officers.
“What are we doing now? Reinstating those names,” Biden said. Last week, Trump used a speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to promise that he would restore the names of Army bases that were once named for Confederate generals.
“Darkness can hide much but can erase nothing,” Biden added.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
