‘Nobody wants to see this’: Gross, Trump doesn’t want to honor Jimmy Carter during his inauguration
Former President Jimmy Carter died peacefully on Dec. 29, 2024. He was 100 years old. He was a Nobel Peace Prize winning humanitarian who was respected by Democrats and Republicans alike – and Donald Trump doesn’t care.
“Nobody wants to see this” wrote Trump in a Truth Social post criticizing the White House announcement that flags will be flown at half-mast in honor of Jimmy Carter for thirty days. Trump evidently sees the gesture of respect as a personal slight, as he pointed out that the American flag could possibly be flown at half-mast “during [his] Inauguration.”
He believes that Democrats are “giddy” at the idea of the perceived insult, and that the White House proclamation is an attack on his administration. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country,” he continued. “They only think about themselves.”
This is hardly the first time that Trump has turned a public tragedy into a personal attack on his political opponents. After the truck attack in New Orleans, when an armed gunman plowed a rented pickup into a crowd of partiers on Bourbon Street and killed 15, Trump took to Truth Social to lay blame on what he called the “open border” polices of the Biden Administration, all the while spreading the lie that the attacker – a military veteran from Texas – was an illegal immigrant.
What Trump doesn’t appear to understand (or is simply ignoring) is that the 30 day half-mast period is a longstanding Eisenhower-era policy put in place to honor presidents after their death. When Trump himself passes away, he too will be honored with this thirty day mourning period. The flag currently will be lowered on all federal buildings, as well as at military bases and on naval ships.
Despite Trump’s flippant attitude towards the nationwide gesture of mourning, he too paid tribute to Jimmy Carter in a post after the former president’s death. Trump wrote that while he “strongly disagreed” with Carter “philosophically and politically” he admitted that Carter did “everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans,” and for that, the nation owes him a “debt of gratitude.” Evidently Trump’s gratitude doesn’t extend to honoring Carter with a practice long since established before Trump took office.
Trump has feuded with Carter before. Trump once called Carter the “forgotten president” after Carter questioned that legitimacy of the 2016 election, citing Russian interference. Carter was no supporter of Trump, and called his first term “a disaster” from a humanitarian standpoint, saying that Trump failed when it came to “human rights and taking care of people and treating people equal.”
When asked about the half-mast plan, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the White House intends to hold to the procedure for the full thirty day period, Trump inauguration or no. In the meantime, Carter will be honored with a state funeral Washington National Cathedral in on January 9th, and then his body lie in state at the Rotunda allowing lawmakers to pay their respects. President Biden is expected to speak at the proceeding, as Carter personally asked him to do so before his death. Donald Trump has said that he will attend as well. After the funeral, Carter will be buried in his hometown of Plains, Georgia next to his late wife, the former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
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