Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on Monday, Jan. 20, becoming the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Despite these proceedings having repeated every four years for most of the country’s history, this year presented a few uncommon complications.
The inauguration was held indoors because of the extremely cold temperatures, a necessary precaution that has happened before, albeit rarely. What has been more heavily debated is that many states around the country had their flags at half mast as part of the traditional memorial for Jimmy Carter.
For students, this wasn’t the big deal it was described as being by Trump and his supporters.
“The mandate was that flags are at half mast for 30 days, so I [didn’t] see a problem with it,” freshman Vivian Schroeder said.
Schroeder said that, while she understands that there could be potentially negative implications of an inauguration taking place with the flags at half mast, she feels that those that remained lowered were left so “on the basis of tradition and respect,” and that they didn’t negate the importance or significance of the ceremony.
Junior Finn Martin believes that, while the mourning period is important, the mandate for all future inaugurations to be conducted under flags flown at full mast is an important symbol of strength and unity.
“The mandate to fly the flag full mast doesn’t disregard the mourning traditions, but I believe, rather, that it offers a temporary period to highlight a time of democratic renewal and also a critical moment for our country,” Martin said.
Martin believes that the capitol made the right decision in raising the flags, even just for the day, because of the message it spreads and the significance it has regarding Inauguration Day for a Democratic nation like the U.S.
“The raising of the flag can be seen as a message of hope and strength, even during times of loss,” Martin said. “It signals both to citizens of the U.S. and the world that the United States remains loyal in its Democratic values.”
However, Trump doesn’t share the same beliefs as EHS students. In a Jan. 3 post on Truth Social, he wrote about the Democratic party “They think it’s so great, and are so happy because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.”
In the same post, Trump claimed he would be the first future president to be inaugurated with the flags at half mast. This claim is false, with the same circumstances occurring during Richard Nixon’s inauguration in 1973 following the death of Harry Truman.
The governors of 28 states—including Florida, Alabama and Texas—made the decision to raise the flags within their state for the ceremony. The flags in these states as well as the capitol were returned to half mast by the next day to continue the memorial for Carter.