Trump claims Dems are ‘giddy’ flags will be half-staff for his inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump claimed that Democrats are “giddy” about flags being flown at half-staff in a sign of mourning and respect to honor the late Jimmy Carter during his inauguration.
President Joe Biden ordered flags be flown at half-staff to honor the late president, who died Sunday at age 100. Trump has tried to politicize the gesture, since the flags will still be lowered during his second inauguration on January 20.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday afternoon. “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. Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years - It’s a total mess!”
The 78-year-old Republican acknowledged that the flags were lowered in honor of Carter, but claimed “nobody wants to see this.”
He wrote: “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. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump’s inauguration is on track to break contribution records, with the inaugural committee projected to raise more than $150 million as billionaires and companies making seven-figure donations.
After Carter’s passing, Biden announced that flags would be flown at half-staff at the White House and all public buildings, military posts, and government naval vessels across the country for 30 days. That’s standard practice when a president or former president dies, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“President Carter was a man of character, courage, and compassion, whose lifetime of service defined him as one of the most influential statesmen in our history,” Biden said in his proclamation. “He embodied the very best of America: A humble servant of God and the people. A heroic champion of global peace and human rights, and an honorable leader whose moral clarity and hopeful vision lifted our Nation and changed our world.”
The funeral for Carter, who was the longest-living former American president, will be held at the Washington National Cathedral January 9, which will also be a national day of mourning.