Johnson Orders Capitol Flags to Full Staff for Inauguration

When President Jimmy Carter died on December 29, 2024, Joe Biden ordered the flags to be lowered to half-staff for 30 days, which is the traditional mourning period for a president.

There have been reports surfacing that Donald Trump was upset over the fact the flags would still be lowered during his inauguration.

So, Speaker Johnson (R-LA) is now ordering Capitol flags to be at full staff for the Trump inauguration.

He’s Upset

If I am being honest, I am not sure how I feel about this one.

I am just trying to look at this on the other foot, say if a Republican president had passed away only weeks before an inauguration, and how we would react if a Democrat wanted the flags raised during that mourning period for their inauguration.

This all got started after Donald Trump erupted over the flags being lowered during the inauguration, stating, "The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my Inauguration.

"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."

He continued, "Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years - It’s a total mess!

"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."

So, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered all flags in Texas to be raised for the day, Speaker Johnson did the same thing.

Johnson stated, “On January 20th, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full staff to celebrate our country's coming together behind the inauguration.

“The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter.”

As I noted, American tradition is that flags fly at half-staff after the death of any former president, but I will refrain from voicing my opinion on this one.

What I will say, however, is that while Trump and Johnson say this will send a message of unity, it is going to do the complete opposite. Democrats will be outraged by this, and we all know it.

This will be portrayed as the ultimate act of disrespect for a deceased president, and it is going to open the door to attacks against Trump and Republicans right from the outset.