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Under the past two administrations, there has been an official celebration of Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo holiday at the White House, but that tradition has come to an end under the current “America First” administration of President Donald Trump.
The Hill reported that the 16-year-old tradition will instead be a much smaller affair held somewhere other than the White House and will feature Vice President Mike Pence as the host.
The reported modification of the White House celebration of the Mexican holiday was initially revealed by Spanish-language media outlet La Opinion, which noted that there had been no official announcement of any change in plans and cited unnamed government sources. The White House did not respond to requests for comment, according to The Hill.
Hispanic activists weren’t pleased.
“The decision of the White House to renounce the celebration of Cinco de Mayo is another slap for many Mexican Americans and Latinos,” complained Felix Sanchez, co-founder and president of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. “Instead of embracing our nation’s multicultural heritage, we are deepening divisions, not looking for common ground.”
The tradition of hosting a big event celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the White House began under former President George W. Bush and was continued under his successor, former President Barack Obama, who welcomed some 500 guests, a celebrity chef and popular Mexican band to the celebration in 2016.
That occurred at the same time that then-candidate Trump posted his now infamous “taco bowl” tweet in honor of the Mexican holiday, a tweet that was criticized by many Hispanics, Mexicans and of course, the liberal media.
Here is the tweet that drew so much condemnation and accusations of racism toward Hispanics, in case you had forgot:
As for the reported decision by the Trump administration not to hold a Cinco de Mayo celebration on White House grounds this year, honestly who can blame them? It likely would have sparked outrage and boycotts and harsh criticisms, much like everything else the administration does.
Meanwhile, the only Cinco de Mayo celebrations that have been officially canceled thus far are those held in various cities around the country by Mexican-Americans, amid fears that immigration agents will monitor the events and round up any illegal immigrants in attendance, according to a report from The Washington Times.
It is worth noting that the Cinco de Mayo holiday — which marks the date in 1862 of the Battle of Puebla, during which the Mexican army held off invading French forces — is typically only solemnly observed in Mexico, with Mexican-Americans and others in the U.S. being the ones treating the holiday as an occasion for festive celebration. (Mexico’s real Independence Day is Sept. 16.)
Though Trump-haters will be upset at the lack of celebration at the White House, they would have been upset regardless, so this move should be viewed less as an effort to offend Mexicans and more likely an effort to either poke the liberal media or simply not waste time on a non-American holiday that isn’t even really celebrated in its country of origin.
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