Former President Joe Biden jumped on an opportunity to slam President Trump and pat himself on the back for standing as an ally with African-Americans during a speech at an AME church service in Galveston Island, Texas, on June 19, 2025 — also known as Juneteenth.
For background, former President Biden delivered a Juneteenth speech at Reedy Chapel AME Church in Galveston, Texas, a historic location where the end of slavery was announced on June 19, 1865. During his speech, Biden called Galveston “the city where freedom rang out 160 years ago” before taking a cheap shot at President Trump.
During his speech, the former president praised himself for his role in turning Juneteenth into a federal holiday, saying, “The events of Juneteenth are of monumental importance to America’s story.” He added, “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.”
Continuing, Biden went on to apparently refer to President Trump while refusing to mention him by name, instead calling him “this guy” before pausing to make the Sign of the Cross for comedic effect. He said, “Well, I took the view as president, we need to be honest about our history, especially if there’s been any time going ever (sic) to erase our history. Not just here, but this guy…”
Then, Biden criticized the right for “trying to erase our history,” calling attention to what he described as “ongoing efforts to erase history from our textbooks and our classrooms.” He went on to say, “[D]arkness can hide much but can erase nothing. The Scripture tells us faith without work (sic) is dead.”
Furthermore, the former president patted himself on the back once again for renaming military bases named after Confederate military officers, saying, “What are we doing now? Reinstating those names,” referring to the Trump Administration’s decision to restore the original names of the bases after they were swapped for non-Confederate military veterans.
Moreover, during the service, Galveston Mayor Craig Brown presented former President Biden with a plaque celebrating the part he played in making Juneteenth a federal holiday, saying, “I still consider our special guest, President Joe Biden, as my president.” In response, the crowd cheered.
In a Truth Social post on Juneteenth, President Trump seemed to make a veiled critique of Biden’s rhetoric, writing, “Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS (sic) to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either!” He added, “Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once (sic) working day of the year. It must change if we are going to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Watch a clip from Biden’s speech:
Featured image credit: video screengrab