This editor didn't realize Friday was Juneteenth until Saturday. Bill Kristol did, and he encouraged his followers to celebrate the new-ish federal holiday. We're not sure what Kristol did to celebrate the holiday, but he didn't do it to celebrate the emancipation of the last slaves held by the Confederacy. No, he encouraged his followers to celebrate to "annoy MAGA."
Celebrate Juneteenth. Annoy MAGA.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 19, 2026
"Millions of Americans will commemorate Juneteenth, in local and civic celebrations across the country even as Trump and Vance ignore the holiday...Celebrating freedom can be a step to freeing ourselves from Trumpism."https://t.co/NGUyh4cGXu
Kristol pulled that quote from a piece in The Bulwark by himself, Andrew Egger, and Jim Swift entitled, "MAGA Hates This Holiday," with the sub-head, "In their version of our history, everything was always perfect."
One understands why Trumpists choose to neglect Juneteenth. After all, Trump’s vice president claimed earlier this week at a campaign event in New York that “they’ve become anti-white in the Democratic party.” If you’re appealing to those who think one of our two major parties is “anti-white,” if you’re trying to convince Americans that anti-whiteness is a great problem, if you’re the party that wants to foster and exploit white grievance, then you have little interest in calling attention to a holiday that is a reminder of the terrible injustices caused by fantasies of white supremacy.
MAGA has never had a problem with Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates a Republican victory over racist Democrats. Trump backed a federal holiday for Juneteenth in 2020. https://t.co/yF6tSlIXw5
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) June 19, 2026
Why would celebrating Republicans freeing Democrat slaves annoy MAGA?
— Can of Spam (@iDoLikeSpam) June 19, 2026
Juneteenth is a product of OG MAGA.
— DriveBy Geek (@DriveByGeek) June 19, 2026
Republicans who wanted to make America great again and fought Democrat elites who didn’t want to give up their forced labor.
Do some research dumbass. pic.twitter.com/1nqfe8po5k
Texans celebrate Juneteenth because we want to commemorate a great day in our history. People like you just use it because you think it annoys Trump.
— Garth of Izar (@GarthMarlin) June 20, 2026
It's not the holiday that's annoying, it's you.
Far better to celebrate it for its own noble and redemptive merits than hijack it for your petty 21st-century hatred.
— Mountain Marmee (@MountainMarmee) June 20, 2026
To form a baseline, when did you start celebrating Juneteenth?
— Aspen Columbus (@DoCoChieftain) June 20, 2026
Tell us what it's like to annoy, well, everybody.
— Kevin (@razorchild63) June 19, 2026
MAGA celebrates the day that Republicans officially beat Democrats in their quest to keep people enslaved. It's a great day!
— CommonSenseIsn'tCommonAnymore (@DCFanFirst) June 19, 2026
Bill, how come you never celebrated or talked about it before Trump?
— Domenic DiPilla (@domo1767) June 20, 2026
He quietly celebrated by inviting all his black neighbors over for beer and barbecue.
MAGA doesn’t hate Juneteenth. It’s reprieve from all the pride month silliness and takes us back to a moment of actual progress.
— Legolas of the Missouri Realm (@LegolasMizzou) June 20, 2026
That’s the best reason to celebrate Juneteenth ? Do you know how inherently racist that sounds ?
— William Bence (@bence_william16) June 19, 2026
Juneteenth doesn't annoy MAGA you ignorant crank.
— HomeyD (@HomeyDee) June 20, 2026
Step one: Build straw man
— FredA1776 (@A1776Fred) June 20, 2026
Step two: Attempt to knock down straw man
Step three: Get owned in replies.
MAGA loves Juneteenth. It's another celebration of the greatness of this country. Why would you want to peddle negativity on a day that celebrates our landmark achievement in humanity?
— Political Winter (@PoliticalWinter) June 20, 2026
That's all Never Trump knows how to do when Donald Trump is president … peddle negativity.
Kristol has confirmed this editor's theory that liberals can't love America because it's not perfect, and they don't dare associate with anything that's not perfect. In the meantime, his rag peddles the myth that "in their version of our history, everything was always perfect." That's reminiscent of people saying schools weren't going to teach slavery anymore once critical race theory was stripped from the curriculum. That was a lie. Conservatives are proud of the progress this country has made.
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