Donald Trump issued a furious statement after learning that the United States flag will remain at half-staff during his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
The flags have been lowered in honor of the late President Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024.
However, Trump, who was elected in November 2024, four years after his previous term, has taken to his social media website Truth Social to complain that “nobody wants to see this”.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being ‘half mast’ during my inauguration,” the president-elect wrote on January 3, 2025.
“They think it’s fantastic and are overjoyed because, in reality, they do not love our country; they only care about themselves. Look at what they’ve done to our once-great America over the last four years – it’s a complete disaster!”
He went on to say, “In any case, because of President Jimmy Carter’s death, the flag may be at half mast for the first time in history during a future President’s inauguration.
Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be satisfied with it. Let’s see how it turns out. “Make America Great Again!”
After the death of a president or former president, the US flag is flown at half-staff for 30 days at “all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels,” according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.
Trump’s claim that this is the first time the flag is at half-staff for an inauguration is false. In 1973, when President Richard Nixon was inaugurated, all flags on the Capitol were at half-staff in memory of President Harry S. Truman.
Carter died on December 29, at the age of 100, making him the longest-lived Commander-in-Chief in American history.
Carter was a civil rights advocate before, during, and after his presidency, and as President, he appointed more women and minorities to federal judgeships than the previous 38 Presidents combined.
His funeral procession began on January 4, 2025, and took him back to the farm where he grew up, as the car paused outside.
In a moving and personal tribute, the National Park Service saluted the late president and rang the historic farm bell 39 times, referencing his role as the 39th President of the United States.
The procession will continue to Atlanta before heading north to Washington, DC, for a national funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.
