Michael Miller of the Washington Post wrote:July. A mass shooting. A community in mourning. And a controversy over a five-day delay in lowering the country’s flags.
Three years ago, it was President Obama who was criticized for hesitating in his decision to fly the nation’s flags at half-staff following the slaying of five service members at a recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Among his fiercest critics was
Donald Trump, then a reality television star, although one surging to the head of the Republican presidential field.
“This disgraceful omission is unacceptable and yet another example of our incompetent politicians,” Trump’s campaign said at the time. “It is a simple yet meaningful and important gesture that signifies our respect and recognition for these great soldiers who lost their lives.”
On Monday, it was Trump’s turn to face criticism after the Annapolis mayor said the president initially refused to lower the nation’s flags in remembrance of the five Capital Gazette employees slain last week.
“Is there a cutoff for tragedy?” Annapolis Mayor
Gavin Buckley (D) told the Gazette, saying his request for the White House to order flags at half-staff had been denied. “This was an attack on the press. It was an attack on freedom of speech. It’s just as important as any other tragedy.”
“Shame, shame, shame Mr President,” tweeted former Democratic National Committee chairwoman
Donna Brazile.
Like Obama after Chattanooga, however, Trump gave the order to lower the nation’s flags five days after the shooting.
The president issued a proclamation Tuesday ordering flags to be flown at half-staff on federal buildings to honor the Gazette victims, The Washington Post’s John Wagner reported. A White House spokeswoman told Wagner the decision was made Monday night “as soon as the president heard about the request from the mayor.”
“Our Nation shares the sorrow of those affected by the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland,” Trump said in the proclamation, which ordered flags to remain at half-staff until sundown on Tuesday. “Americans across the country are united in calling upon God to be with the victims and to bring aid and comfort to their families and friends.”
Like the Chattanooga controversy in 2015 — when Trump was joined in his criticism by
Glenn Beck,
Curt Schilling and a Navy SEAL, among others, and when a false rumor circulated that Obama had ordered flags lowered for fallen singer
Whitney Houston about three years earlier — the political debate has drawn attention to a peculiar historical practice.
Formal procedures for lowering the nation’s flags to half-staff were first spelled out in a proclamation by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. The length of time the flag is lowered for the death of a public official depends on the prominence of their office, Eisenhower ruled, from 30 days for former or current presidents down to a single full day for a member of Congress.
But the president can also proclaim periods of national mourning for other people and events, including mass shootings, opening the decision up to public scrutiny.
In April, Trump ordered flags lowered for five days in honor of former first lady
Barbara Bush.
He also asked that flags fly at half-staff for four days after previous mass shootings in Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Tex., Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, Tex.
» 'Wheel of Fortune' Fans Call For Rule Change After Contestant Loses on Minor Technicality
» Fla. Teacher Who Presented Herself as 'Mother Figure' Accused of Sexually Abusing Student for Years
» Derek Chauvin Trial: MMA Fighter Who Watched George Floyd's Death Says He Called Police on the Police
» Gun Laws and Stats
» Floyd Family Kneels Outside Courthouse in Symbolic Statement
» Boulder Shooting: Multiple Injuries, Residents Take Shelter as Police Look For Gunman
» Person of Interest in the Deaths of 5 People, Including Ex-Wife, Allegedly Admits to Murdering 16
» If You Haven’t Received Your 3rd Stimulus Check Yet, Here’s Why Wednesday Matters
» Free Byte: What Grinds My Gears? Cancel Culture
» Tennessee Sister and Brother Charged with First-Degree Murder in the Death of Their Disabled Mother
» Spa Shooting Victims ID'd As Biden, Harris Head To Atlanta
» Food and more!
» Michelle Obama Responds to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah Winfrey Interview
» Queen Elizabeth Says Saddened by Harry and Meghan's Experiences
» Suicide Prevention
» Jury Selection in Derek Chauvin Case Starts Despite Prosecutors Wanting to Halt Trial
» House Progressives Back Revised COVID-19 Aid Bill as Vote Nears
» A Facebooker's Take on The Right Wing's Take on Joe Biden
» Another Trump on the Ballot? Lara Trump Eyes Senate Seat