President-elect Donald Trump has voiced his discontent over the forthcoming situation of U.S. flags being flown at half-staff when he assumes office later this month. The gesture, mandated by President Joe Biden, serves to pay tribute to the late President Jimmy Carter, who passed away last month at the age of 100. This is a situation Trump has no control over until after his inauguration, yet he has raised the large American flag at his Florida residence back to full height following Carter’s interment.
So why are flags being lowered to half-staff? On December 29, President Biden issued an announcement directing U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff as a sign of mourning for the former president. This honor reflects a period of grief for the nation or a specific state. The U.S. flag code outlines the criteria for such actions, which include a 30-day mourning period for current or past presidents, during which flags at federal properties, military installations, and U.S. embassies abroad must remain at half-staff. While the deaths of other officials—like vice presidents, Supreme Court justices, and Congressional members—can also prompt flags to be lowered, these instances typically do not come with as extended a duration. Additionally, flags may be lowered in response to national tragedies or on days such as Memorial Day.
As per Biden’s directive, flags will remain lowered for 30 days from the date of Carter’s passing, which runs until January 28. Given that the inauguration is set for January 20, this means the flags will be at half-staff when Trump officially takes office and during the initial week of his presidency.
Who has the authority to order flags to be lowered? The U.S. General Services Administration clarifies that the president, state governors, and the mayor of the District of Columbia have the power to issue such directives.
Regarding Trump’s opinions on the flag situation, on January 3, he took to social media to express that “Democrats are all ‘giddy’” over the fact that flags would be lowered as he assumed presidency. He conveyed that “nobody wants to see this,” asserting that “no American can be happy about it” and added a note of anticipation on how events will unfold while signifying his campaign slogan “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” When questioned about Trump’s comments at a recent press conference, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre affirmed that Biden has no intention of reconsidering the half-staff order.
Could Trump decide to raise the flags? Yes, while the U.S. flag code recommends a 30-day mourning period following a former president’s death, it is not a binding law. Once he officially takes office, Trump could choose to raise the flags as he sees fit. A similar situation occurred in February 1973, when President Richard Nixon opted to raise flags—initially lowered after President Lyndon Johnson’s death—before the 30-day period concluded, in honor of American prisoners of war liberated from Vietnam. However, that temporary stance only lasted a day before flags returned to half-staff for an additional eight days.
There’s an instance where Trump has made his own flag adjustments prior to taking office, specifically at Mar-a-Lago. Initially, the large U.S. flag at Trump’s private club was lowered to half-staff following the standard protocol and orders from Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but it has since been hoisted back to full height after the burial of Carter.
Following this, a spokesperson for Trump did not immediately provide comments upon request. Trump paid his respects by visiting Carter’s casket as it lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda, and he attended Carter’s state funeral service in Washington last week.
Trump has previously expressed similar discontent regarding flag protocol. After the passing of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain in 2018, there was a brief period when the flags were lowered to half-staff over the weekend only to be returned to full height that following Monday, while flags at the U.S. Capitol and elsewhere remained at half-staff. This action caused outcry from both Republican and Democratic members until Trump eventually agreed to lower the flags back to half-staff, despite the senator’s family openly indicating they did not wish for Trump to attend the funeral.