- Flags are flying at half-mast after the death of Jimmy Carter
- They will be flying at half-mast on Trump’s inauguration day
- The inauguration takes place on 20th January
Donald Trump‘s not happy about flags flying at half-mast on the day of his inauguration.
Flags have been at half-mast since the death of former president Jimmy Carter on December 29. This is tradition after the death of a president or former president and they remain that way for 30 days.
Consequently, this means flags will fly at half-mast on January 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. They will stay that way for a week afterwards
“Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday. He also baseless accused Democrats of being “giddy” that flags will be at half-mast during his inauguration.
In addition, since it was outgoing President Joe Biden that ordered the flags to be lowered, Trump can’t do anything about it till after he is inaugurated.
Trump’s previous issues with flags at half-mast
This is not the first time Trump has found issue with the notion of flags flying in half-mast out of respect to a recently diseased public figure.
In 2018, just two days after Senator John McCain’s death, Trump had the White House flag raised to full-mast. This prompted criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike, as well as veteran groups. Eventually, Trump relented and ordered the flag to be lowered.
Consequently, he didn’t receive an invitation to McCain’s funeral. Later, he complained that he “didn’t get a thank you” for giving the Arizona senator “the kind of funeral he wanted.”
What has Trump said about Jimmy Carter?
When Carter was alive, Trump wasn’t exactly complimentary about the former President, who served one term from 1977 to 1981.
Both were rather critical of each other. Trump called Carter the “worst president” and mocked his presidency while simultaneously attacking Biden during the election campaign last year. Carter criticized Trump’s behavior and suggested Russian “interference” had a hand in Trump winning his first term in 2016.
Trump’s tribute to Carter on the news of his death struck a very different tone.
“The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”
Trump is also expected to attend Carter’s funeral.
