The war of the flags: Abbott, DeSantis and Johnson defy Biden and they will fly at full staff at Trump's inauguration

The flags at Donald Trump's inauguration have become the latest battleground between Republicans and Democrats. Joe Biden's directive to fly flags at half-staff for a month on all federal buildings nationwide, as a gesture of mourning for Jimmy Carter's death, sparked controversy among conservatives. This order, to the delight of Democratic lawmakers, would require the president-elect to take office with flags lowered. However, GOP leaders have pushed back. So far, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and House Speaker Mike Johnson have announced that flags will fly at full staff on January 20 in the Lone Star State and at the Capitol.

Although Biden's mandate refers to federal buildings across the country, the national flag code mandates that no other flag can fly above it, which means governors must lower state flags at the same time to comply with protocol.

Biden and Democratic leaders insisted that the period of mourning for the death of a former president had that period and the inauguration of Donald Trump was no reason to make an exception. Something that provoked the protests of the Republican for what he considered a disregard for his person, the figure of the Presidency and even for the country to the joy of his political rivals.

Trump: Democrat's playfulness with the flag shows they "don't love our country"

In a January 3 post on his Truth Social account, the president-elect denounced that this move to use the flag to tarnish his big day demonstrates that the Democrats "in reality, don't love our country, only think of themselves" and can be seen as a symbol of "what they have done to our once GREAT America in the last four years - It's a total disaster!" Furthermore, Trump asserted that "no one wants to see this, and no American can be happy" over the celebration, "for the first time during the Inauguration of a future President" the mourning flags.

Abbott opened the floor to challenge

Words of which Abbott and Johnson have taken good note and have taken the measures in their power to avoid upsetting the future president. The Texan governor opened the ban by announcing on Monday, January 13, that the flags in Texas would fly at full mast on the day of the inauguration. In a statement, the Lone Star state governor justified the measure by assuring that "as we honor the services rendered by President Carter, we should celebrate the bright future that awaits us."

Johnson spares Trump from photo of his swearing-in with flags down on Capitol Hill

A day later it was Speaker Mike Johnson who announced that the flags on Capitol Hill will welcome the president-elect in all their splendor, avoiding the photo of a mourning inauguration. "On Jan. 20, the flags on Capitol Hill will fly at full mast to celebrate our country coming togetherafter the inauguration of our 47th president, Donald Trump. The flags will be lowered to half-staff again the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter," he wrote in a post on his X account.

DeSantis joins the challenge in Florida

Initially aligning with Biden’s directive to fly flags at half-staff for 30 days, DeSantis later followed Johnson and Abbott’s lead, announcing that flags in Florida will fly at full staff on January 20.