WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump complained on Friday that American flags would still be lowered to half-staff in honor of the late President Jimmy Carter during Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
President Joe Biden ordered flags lowered to half-staff for 30 days from the day of Carter’s death on Dec. 29, as is custom when a U.S. president dies.
Trump, who has announced plans to attend Carter’s memorial service in Washington on Jan. 9, took issue in a Truth Social post on Friday with the flags remaining in the mourning position during his swearing-in ceremony.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump said, employing a term frequently used for the lowered position when the flag is on a ship.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump said that due to Carter’s death last week the American flag would “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,” he said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House had no plans to reconsider the decision.
(Reporting By Steve Holland; additional reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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