Utah will join a growing number of Republican-led states to raise American flags to full-staff for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week amid a monthlong period of mourning for the death of Democratic President Jimmy Carter, Gov. Spencer Cox announced Wednesday afternoon.
The order runs up against a December proclamation from President Joe Biden to lower the flag and is contrary to non-mandatory federal flag code, which says the flag shall be flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a president or former president. Carter died Dec. 29.
“Gov. Cox extends an invitation to all private citizens, businesses and organizations across the state to join in this tribute,” a statement from the governor’s office read.
Flags in Utah should return to half-staff at sunset on Monday, Cox’s order noted, and will remain there until sunset on Jan. 28.
Less than a week after Carter’s death, Trump accused Democrats of being “giddy” at the possibility that the flag would fly at half-mast over his inauguration.
“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 wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
He continued, “In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, 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.”
A trend of GOP governors ordering flags to be raised began with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday, and Cox is among several others who followed suit. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on social media Tuesday morning that flags at the U.S. Capitol will also fly at full-staff “to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump.”
Once a Trump critic, Cox endorsed the former president last year as he ran for his own reelection, and has since made efforts to become closer with the now-president-elect.
Cox attended a breakfast with Trump along with other Republican governors at his sprawling Florida resort last week, and, over the summer, joined a graveside ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery with Trump.
Both the president-elect and the Utah governor were criticized when their respective campaigns used the Arlington event to rally support, a move that raised questions about whether they had violated federal law. Cox later apologized.
