Johnson announces flags will fly full-staff during Trump’s inauguration
American flags will fly full-staff for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday after all, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday, “to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President.”
President Joe Biden ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff for 30 days after former President Jimmy Carter died last month, in keeping with tradition following the death of the president. They will return to half-staff the day after the inauguration, Johnson added in the X post.
The raised flags will set a different tone for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. The president-elect had criticized Democrats for being “giddy” about the flags flying at half-mast during his second inauguration.
“Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this month. Now, Trump will have a similar pomp-and-circumstance to match his first inauguration eight years ago.
The Biden administration had previously declined to reconsider the positioning of the flags for the inauguration.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated how many years ago was Trump's first inauguration. It was eight years ago.