US park service to offer free entry on Trump’s birthday but revokes it for MLK Day and Juneteenth

The US’s National Park Service (NPS) will offer free admission to US residents on Donald Trump’s birthday in 2026 – which also happens to be Flag Day – but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr Day and Juneteenth.The new list of free admission days for Americans is the latest example of the Trump administration downplaying America’s civil rights history while also promoting the president’s image, name and legacy.In 2024, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day and the emancipation celebration Juneteenth – which is 19 June – but not 14 June, Trump’s birthday.The new free-admission policy takes effect on 1 January and was one of several changes announced by the park service late in November, including higher admission fees for international visitors.The other days of free park admission in 2026 are Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (27 October) and the anniversary of the creation of the park service (25 August).Eliminating Martin Luther King Jr Day and Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated, removes two of the nation’s most prominent civil rights holidays.Civil rights leaders voiced opposition to the change after news about it began spreading over the weekend.“The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven,” Cornell William Brooks, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and former president of the NAACP, wrote on social media about the new policy.Kristen Brengel, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said that while presidential administrations have tweaked the free days in the past, the elimination of Martin Luther King Jr Day is particularly concerning. For one, the day has become a popular day of service for community groups that use the free day to perform volunteer projects at parks.That will now be much more expensive, said Brengel, whose organization is a non-profit that advocates for the park system.“Not only does it recognize an American hero, it’s also a day when people go into parks to clean them up,” Brengel said. “Martin Luther King Jr deserves a day of recognition … For some reason, Black history has repeatedly been targeted by this administration, and it shouldn’t be.”Some Democratic lawmakers also weighed in to object to the new policy.“The president didn’t just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom,” said Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democratic US senator of Nevada. “Our country deserves better.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionA spokesperson for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to questions over the weekend seeking information about the reasons behind the changes.Since taking office, Trump has sought to eliminate programs seen as promoting diversity across the federal government, actions that have erased or downplayed America’s history of racism as well as the civil rights victories of Black Americans.Self-promotion is an old habit of the president’s and one he has continued in his second term. He unsuccessfully put himself forward for the Nobel peace prize, renamed the US Institute of Peace after himself, sought to put his name on the planned NFL stadium in the nation’s capital and had a new children’s savings program named after him.Some Republican lawmakers have suggested putting his visage on Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill.