A flag at the Capitol Building in Washington DC is lowered to half-mast for the death of former US President Jimmy Carter on 2 January. Photo: Andrew Harnik / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
President-elect Donald Trump has complained that American flags will still be lowered to half-staff in honour of the late President Jimmy Carter during his 20 January inauguration.
President Joe Biden ordered flags lowered to half-staff for 30 days from the day of Carter's death on 29 December, as is custom when a US president dies.
Trump, who has announced plans to attend Carter's memorial service in Washington on 9 January, took issue in a Truth Social post on Friday with the flags remaining in the mourning position during his swearing-in ceremony.
"The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my Inauguration," Trump said.
"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," Trump said.
Trump, Melania Trump, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Jimmy Carter listen as former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-WY., speaks during a State Funeral Funeral former US President George H.W. Bush in 2018. Photo: AFP
Trump said that due to Carter's death last week the American flag would "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," he said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House had no plans to reconsider the decision.
- Reuters
![[FILE] Jimmy Carter, the former United States President, attends a press conference at the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, on July 3, 1994. He spoke to the media about his talk with Kim Il-Sung, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, a month before. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun ) (Photo by YOMIURI SHIMBUN / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP)](https://media.rnztools.nz/rnz/image/upload/s--mTfWDucZ--/c_crop,h_675,w_1080,x_0,y_0/c_scale,h_675,w_1080/c_scale,f_auto,q_auto,w_288/v1735542414/4KECK8K_AFP__20241230__AR_241230JIMMYCARTER313__v1__HighRes__UsFormerPresidentJimmyCarterDie_jpg?_a=BACCd2AD)
