WASHINGTON ― President-elect Donald Trump lashed out Friday over plans for the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff during his upcoming inauguration to honor the late President Jimmy Carter ‒ but the White House said it isn’t reconsidering the order.
American flags have been flying at half-staff at all federal properties including the Capitol since Dec. 29, when President Joe Biden ordered the measure of respect for 30 days following Carter’s death. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president on Jan. 20, which falls within the 30-day window.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, incorrectly using the term that refers to flags being flown halfway up the mast on a ship at sea, not a flag pole. “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.”
More: From ‘worst president’ to ‘highest respect’: Trump softens opinion of Jimmy Carter in death
President-elect Donald Trump arrives on New Year’s Eve at his Mar-A-Lago Club on December 31, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Biden won’t consider reversing or revaluating the flag order.
Trump went on to slam Democratic leadership in his social media post.
“Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years – It’s a total mess!” Trump said. “In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast. Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out.”
Carter, who died last week at 100 years old, is set to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda from Jan. 7 to Jan. 9. Services honoring Carter will begin this weekend in his native Georgia. Trump has said he plans to attend Carter’s state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington on Jan. 9.
Although a longtime critic of Carter ‒ who previously mocked the one-term, Democratic commander-in-chief as the nation’s worst president ‒ Trump called Carter a “truly good man” who will be missed following his death.
Biden has said he plans to attend Trump’s inauguration, committing to an orderly transfer of power, despite Trump skipping Biden’s 2021 inauguration after Trump fought to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump fumes over US flag flying at half-staff during his inauguration
