On Jan. 20, Donald Trump took the stage to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. The inauguration ceremony, which is typically held outdoors at the U.S. Capitol building, was moved indoors because of forecasts of extreme cold. But that wasn’t the only noticeable break from tradition. While flags are usually flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day, there were a few factors that pointed to flags being flown at half-staff ahead of the ceremonies. Here’s why.
The custom of flying the flag at half-staff has been around since the 17th Century, and is typically ordered by the president to mark deaths of political officials or other members of government, or to commemorate a tragic event. On Dec. 29, 2024, Jimmy Carter, a former senator from Georgia who served as the 39th president of the United States, passed away at 100 years old. In remembrance of a former U.S. president’s death, it’s customary to fly the flag at half-staff at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels for the following 30 days. Trump’s inauguration was within those 30 days.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a post on X, “On January 20th, 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, a Republican, added that “the flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter.”
Trump also expressed that he wanted flags at full-staff on Inauguration Day. In a post on his platform Truth Social, he said Democrats were “giddy” that flags might be at half-staff during his Inauguration ceremony. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it,” he added.Â
Some states’ public flags were raised for Inauguration Day. Governors from Iowa, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Nebraska and Alabama ordered that public flags would be at full-staff on Inauguration Day.Â
Despite Trump’s comment about Democrats not wanting to raise the flag for his inauguration, several Democrat-led states also raised their flags, including California, Colorado and New York. “Regardless of your political views, the American tradition of the peaceful transition of power is something to celebrate,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The record cold that caused the inauguration ceremony to be moved indoors also caused delays in raising flags on the morning of the ceremony. According to the U.S. Capitol Police, the Capitol grounds were frozen for much of the morning, which caused workers tasked with raising the flags to struggle with the rope mechanisms. It was reported that all flags were successfully raised prior to the ceremony, though.
According to Speaker Johnson’s statement last week, all flags that were raised in the Capitol for Trump’s inauguration would be lowered again on Jan. 21. The official period of mourning for former president Jimmy Carter will end on Jan. 29.