Ivanka Trump took to Twitter on Friday to post a message commemorating Juneteeth. However, many social media followers weren’t impressed with her words and took the opportunity to point out what they see as racist behavior by her father, President Donald Trump.
“Today we honor #Juneteenth, when in 1865 news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, TX, marking the end of slavery in the U.S,” she tweeted . “Let #Juneteenth 2020 serve as a day of reflection, acknowledgement and education as we work to better inform ourselves, fight to remove unjust barriers to true equality and achieve the full realization of our founding ideals!”
Juneteeth is the holiday celebrating the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans, and — while it isn’t recognized as a federal holiday — it is commemorated widely across the United States. While some users cheered the so-called first daughter’s choice to honor the event, others said that her support of her father — who has been accused of racist actions — made her tweet appear hypocritical.
“Your Dad’s campaign used Nazi symbols in ads on Facebook. My Dad fought in WWII to stop fascism,” wrote one user.
“Your dad lost two cases this week based on his fight to deprive people of their rights. One case he argued that a gay man should be fired just because he played on a softball team. Your campaign had ads removed from Facebook because he disseminated nazi symbols to millions,” added another.
Others reminded the White House advisor that her father had overseen the removal of Black Lives Matter protesters using tactics like tear gas and rubber bullets, so that he could pose for cameras in front of a church while holding a bible.
Several people pointed out to the eldest Trump daughter that her father had planned to hold a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Juneteenth, a move that some felt was disrespectful. While the president ultimately made the decision to move the rally to the following day, he later claimed that he had made the holiday famous by bringing attention to it, as The Inquisitr previously reported.
“It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it,” he claimed.
Not all responses to the 38-year-old’s tweet were entirely negative, however. Some encouraged her to have a conversation with her family to explain the importance of the day and celebrated her for making the effort to be inclusive.
Some social media users came to her defense as well.
“Stop hating. She’s acting better than you. Try spreading a positive message. Rather than bashing,” one Twitter user remarked.
