Washington: The death of former US President Jimmy Carter: As America awaits the transition of power, mourning has begun as the country gears up for the inauguration of President Elect Donald Trump on the 20th of January next year. President Joe Biden launched a 30-day mourning period where the US flag will be lowered to half-staff. This decision has raised a certain debate because Trump has taken to the media to protest against the lowering of the flags on his inauguration.
The US has policies that when the president dies, either current or previous, the flags should be flown at half-staff for thirty days in the country. Here, Biden directed the flags to be half-staff for Carter, 100, who finally succumbed to death. Although the flags are currently flying at half-staff, Biden said that the flags should be full-staff when he is sworn in.
These directives also require that flags be flown at half-staff not only throughout the United States and its territories, including the District of Columbia, at half-staff in all offices, private establishments, and homes throughout the United States and in diplomatic establishments and on naval vessels abroad when the President dies. Furthermore, the flags can be lowered to other officials, including the vice presidents, the members of the Supreme Court, or even Congress, but this may not be for a thirty-day tenure.
The flag of the country can be lowered not only in connection with the death of the president but in other cases, for example, on days of mourning, on holidays dedicated to the memory of a tragedy. According to The Flag Code, no flag should be hoisted above the flag of the United States on the same pole; hence, when the flags are raised halfway down, so too are state flags.
Trump has already expressed his concerns over half-mast flags through his Twitter account: nobody wants to see the flag dropped. Still, as soon as he gets into the office, Trump can reverse the decision to lower flags across the country.
It is worth recognising that the 30-day rule is not mandatory, as it is the Flag Code, containing only recommendations for treatment of the flags after a former president’s demise. That is why Trump could proverbially snap his fingers and bring this period of mourning to an end once he is in office.
For now, flags will still be lowered up to January 28 in respect of Carter. This means that on January 20, when Trump will be officially inaugurated and for one week thereafter, the national flag will remain half-masted.
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