President Donald Trump commenced his second term with a disrespectful break of precedent.
On his first day in office, Trump released a proclamation ordering all American flags to be flown at full-staff for presidential inaugurations. This goes against former President Biden’s order to fly American flags at the customary half-staff during the 30-day mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter. Trump’s decision disrespected Carter and Biden, unnecessarily deepening partisan divides. This decision sets the standard for a chaotic term.
Section four of the U.S. Code states that following the death of a president, the sitting president must order all flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days. Carter’s passing on Dec. 29 caused the 30 day mourning period to overlap with the 47th inauguration, resulting in all flags to be flown half-staff.
On Jan. 3, Trump shared his frustration with his Truth Social followers, stating that Democrats were ‘giddy’ the flags would be half-staff during the inauguration.
Biden’s proclamation of Carter’s death on Dec. 29 included an order to keep flags at half-staff for 30 days following his death in order to signify the nation’s mourning. Despite this order, House Speaker Mike Johnson declared that the American flags at the U.S. Capitol would be flown at full-staff for Trump’s inauguration. Following Johnson’s decision, several governors ordered all flags to fly at full-staff on Inauguration Day. States including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California and others flew flags at full-staff. Georgia continued to fly flags at half-staff.
While Trump often criticized Carter, this should be a time of unity and grief across the nation. Shortly after Carter’s passing, Trump denounced Carter’s actions as president during a Jan. 7 speech, claiming Carter made a “very big mistake” by selling the Panama Canal. Additionally, at a campaign event on Carter’s 100th birthday, Trump disrespected both Biden and Carter during his speech by saying that Biden was “the worst president,” and mockingly stating Carter is now “the happiest man because Carter is considered a brilliant president by comparison.” By making this joke, Trump diminished both Biden and Carter’s presidential accomplishments.
Flying flags at full-staff undermines the bipartisanship of mourning an American president. Instead of bringing the country together to reflect on Carter’s life as a public servant, Trump decided to politicize Carter’s death. Trump sent a message of disrespect and divide to his supporters by raising the flags at his private Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach just days after Carter’s burial. This further deepens the partisan divides that keep our country fractured and hinder progress.
These decisions turn Carter’s death into a topic of political discussion, rather than national unity, which is both unfair and disrespectful to Carter’s memory. Carter left a meaningful legacy, negotiating the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaty and advancements of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to limit nuclear capabilities of the U.S. and Soviet Union. These accomplishments were influential to the country’s success at preserving international peace, and Trump’s unnecessarily critical comments take away from their impact.
Prior to his passing, Carter made it clear he didn’t want Trump in office. He shared with his grandson, Jason Carter, that he was “only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.” But Carter never directly disrespected Trump. Prior to Trump’s first term, Carter shared that he was “ready to assist the Trump administration,” despite their differences. Trump’s decision to disrespect Carter in such an insulting manner was incredibly unfair to Carter and his loved ones.
Trump’s first days in office have already gone against everything Carter stood for. His initial actions included flying the flag at full-staff on Inauguration Day and pardoning Jan. 6 rioters and implementing harsh immigration policy, among many others. These extreme decisions further highlight Trump’s immaturity and irrational decision making skills.
Even Former President Richard Nixon was honorable enough to keep the flag at half-staff during his 1973 inauguration in honor of former President Harry Truman. If Nixon, who was ranked the 12th worst president in American history, was respectful enough to leave the flags at half-staff, that says a lot about the kind of person and politician Trump is.
Trump’s actions not only disrespected former Presidents Biden and Carter, but America as a whole. The decision to fly flags at full-staff on Inauguration Day, even if it overlaps with a period of mourning, is impolite and turns mourning into a topic of unnecessary political discussion.
