Washington (AFP) – US flags will fly at full-staff at the Capitol during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, the leader of the House of Representatives announced Tuesday, after he complained about having them lowered to honor late president Jimmy Carter.
The flags were ordered to be at half-staff for the 30 days following Carter’s death on December 29, but Trump took to his social media to accuse Democrats of being “giddy” about the solemn tribute because “they don’t love our country.” President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, responded by insisting the White House would not reverse the plan, but Mike Johnson, who leads the ultra-loyal Republican majority as speaker of the House, relented.
“On January 20, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump,” Johnson said in a statement. “The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter,” he added.
Pictures shared on social media and purported to have been taken Monday showed a US flag flying at full-staff at Trump’s oceanfront Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida. Carter, the 39th president, was 100 when he died, making him the longest-lived president in the nation’s history. A 1950s presidential proclamation states that, for a sitting or former president, flags will be lowered on all federal buildings for 30 days.
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