{"id":585989,"date":"2023-08-07T03:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T00:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/vivek-ramaswamy-calls-juneteenth-useless-2-months-after-posting-a-video-celebrating-it\/"},"modified":"2023-08-07T03:16:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T00:16:00","slug":"vivek-ramaswamy-calls-juneteenth-useless-2-months-after-posting-a-video-celebrating-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/vivek-ramaswamy-calls-juneteenth-useless-2-months-after-posting-a-video-celebrating-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#Vivek Ramaswamy calls Juneteenth ‘useless’ 2 months after posting a video celebrating it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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VAIL, Iowa \u2014 Vivek Ramaswamy suggested canceling Juneteenth, calling it a \u201cuseless\u201d holiday in a conversation with Iowa voters Saturday.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Less than two months ago, however, he posted a video<\/a> on social media<\/a> celebrating the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breaking down his plan Saturday to institute a national voting holiday, Ramaswamy, a GOP presidential candidate, proposed making space for the new holiday by canceling an old one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCancel Juneteenth or one of the other useless ones we made up,\u201d Ramaswamy told an app<\/a>lauding crowd gathered at a welding company here.<\/p>\n

Asked by NBC News<\/a> to clarify whether he thought Juneteenth was a \u201cuseless\u201d holiday, Ramaswamy said, \u201cI basically do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Less than two months ago, on Juneteenth itself, he spoke differently about the celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe don\u2019t just look back and flog ourselves,\u201d Ramaswamy said in the video June 19, which was posted to his account on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we celebrate is how far we\u2019ve come. And as a first-generation American myself, you better believe I\u2019m proud of it. Happy Juneteenth everybody,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When NBC News asked Ramaswamy on Saturday whether he believed Veterans Day or Memorial Day were also useless holidays, he said he didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand with the presumption of time-tested traditions,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Juneteenth became a federal holiday only in 2021, it has been observed since 1866<\/a>. In 2004, President George W. Bush issued a statement<\/a> commemorating the holiday.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Ramaswamy called the Juneteenth holiday \u201credundant,\u201d saying it overlapped with other holidays, like Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day.<\/p>\n

Yet Juneteenth celebrates something completely different. As the National Museum of African American History and Culture notes, Juneteenth celebrates the anniversary<\/a> of when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced a quarter-million Black people had been freed by executive decree.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason for making it a holiday was under political duress. It was a political hostage situation on the back of the death of George Floyd,\u201d Ramaswamy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of his competitors, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who is biracial, criticized Ramaswamy for saying he “hopes to cancel a holiday that celebrates equality and freedom.”<\/p>\n

“His gimmicks and shtick aren\u2019t serious,” Hurd said. <\/p>\n

On Juneteenth two months ago, the NAACP issued a statement<\/a> saying, \u201cToday we celebrate our emancipation while also acknowledging that we are still fighting for true freedom.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Alex Tabet<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Alex Tabet is a 2024 NBC News campaign\u00a0embed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Katherine Koretski<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Katherine Koretski\u00a0is a 2024 NBC News campaign\u00a0embed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jonathan Allen contributed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n