Did President Joe Biden deviate from standard protocol following the death of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, 2024, by ordering flags to be set at half-staff during President-elect Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: Federal law requires flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a president or former president. This 30-day period following Carter's death simply overlaps with Trump's January 20, 2025, inauguration.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by political activist Laura Loomer on December 29, 2024. The post's caption said:
🚨Joe Biden has declared January 9th, 2025 to be a National Day of Mourning for the passing of President Jimmy Carter. He also ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half staff for 30 days, which means it will be at half staff during the Inauguration of President Trump.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Dec 23 16:59:21 2024 UTC)
The post included a screenshot of Biden's White House proclamation (archived here) announcing Carter's death. It provides no evidence to support its implied assertion that Biden broke the rules or deliberately directed the flags to be lowered specifically during Trump's inauguration.
This 30-day period is not discretionary; it's set out in federal statute.
United States Code
The U.S. Code (U.S.C.), which lists the "general and permanent laws of the United States," spells out the statutory requirements involving the American flag. Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 7 (archived here) of the U.S.C. says:
The flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the death of the President or a former President...
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