President-elect Donald Trump has expressed frustration over the decision to keep American flags at half-staff during his inauguration on January 20, 2025. This period of mourning honors the late President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29, 2024. According to U.S. flag code, flags are to be flown at half-staff for 30 days following the death of a sitting or former president.
Trump took to Truth Social to voice his concerns, stating, “The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration.” He further accused Democrats of lacking patriotism, saying, “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.”
Some left-leaning commentators have noted the timing of the flag-lowering as symbolic. For instance, Jon Cooper, former Long Island campaign chair for President Barack Obama, remarked on social media, “Jimmy Carter left one last parting gift for Trump after his death.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the matter, stating that there are no plans to alter the flag-lowering directive for Inauguration Day. While the flag code is not enforced by federal law, and Trump could order flags to be raised after his swearing-in, no such decision has been announced.
President Carter’s funeral is scheduled for January 9 at Washington National Cathedral, where President Joe Biden is expected to deliver a eulogy. President-elect Trump has announced plans to attend the service.
When asked if President Biden will consider reversing or reevaluating the order to have flags flying at half-staff for President Carter on Inauguration Day.@PressSec: “No.” pic.twitter.com/UAI4LWnLxM
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 3, 2025