Idaho Gov. Little breaks U.S. flag protocol to show cult-like fealty to Trump | Opinion

“In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. … The flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the death of the President or a former President.” U.S. Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, § 7

The section of U.S. Code commonly known as the “Flag Code” is a set of guidelines for the proper display of the American flag. It’s not law, and someone who does not follow the guidelines won’t be hauled off to jail or charged with some crime.

Still, it’s standard protocol, a set of time-honored norms intended to establish a system of respect.

The specific section calling for the flag to be flown at half-staff for 30 days when a president or former president dies has been in place since the Flag Code was first codified by Congress in 1942.

It was formalized by presidential proclamation in 1954 by then-President Dwight Eisenhower — a Republican, by the way, when that term referred to an actual political party — and the tradition of flying the flag at half-staff for 30 days for a president’s death has been a long-standing practice ever since.

And so, with the passing of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29, flags were ordered to be flown at half-staff for 30 days, until sunset on Jan. 28.

Just as it was with the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Herbert Hoover, Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman (we’ll come back to this later), Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush over the past several decades.

Now comes President-elect Donald Trump, who is scheduled to be inaugurated on Monday, Jan. 20.

Ever the narcissistic crybaby, Trump played the victim and whined that Democrats were “giddy” that flags would be at half-staff for his inauguration, as if Jimmy Carter died on Dec. 29 for the sole purpose of raining on Trump’s Jan. 20 parade.

In response, several Republicans, including our own Idaho Gov. Brad Little, acquiesced to Trump like a bad parent giving candy to a screaming baby.

Several Republican governors and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced they would be flying the American flag at full-staff on Monday.

“Idaho will recognize the swearing in of our 47th president, Donald Trump, by raising our flags on this momentous day,” Little wrote in a press release. “This is a historic transition in our nation’s leadership, and we will celebrate it.”

Yes, it is historic, governor. It’s the first time the American public elected a convicted felon to the White House.

Other than that, though, it’s no more historic a transition than we have every four years, after we elect a U.S. president.

Not even the notoriously vindictive and mean-spirited Richard Nixon complained about the flags being at half-staff for his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1973, after the death of Truman on Dec. 26, 1972.

Of course, that’s a fact that Trump lied about, because he can’t help himself, and he apparently wanted to warm up for a repeat performance of making more than 30,000 false or misleading claims during his first term.

“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,” Trump wrote on social media.

Ever since he came down the golden escalator in 2015, Trump has proved to be a destroyer of social and political norms and protocols, whether it’s telling lies, calling people names like he’s a kid, bragging he can grab women by the genitals, spreading conspiracy theories, insulting political opponents and their spouses, denying a legitimate election or inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

We all know what kind of person Trump is.

Breaking the quaint protocol of flying a flag at half-staff for the death of a president is nothing to someone like Trump.

But to see good people like Brad Little of Emmett willingly and enthusiastically dive headfirst into Trump’s muck is truly a sad thing to witness.

Yes, Trump won Idaho with 67% of the vote, so Little must feel like he has to go along to get along. But this goes beyond just politics. This kind of fealty crosses the line into cult-like reverence.

Perhaps Little could take some other extraordinary measures to appease the dear ruler.

How about cancel Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which also falls on Monday, Jan. 20. Oh, that’s right, Idaho celebrates “Human Rights Day.” But Trump might not like that day, either.

Another section of the Flag Code reads, “No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America.”

Let’s throw out that section, too, and put a Trump MAGA flag above the U.S. flag. Even better, how about one of those F*** Biden flags, while we’re at it?

Since we’re throwing norms and decorum out the window to appease someone like Trump, why the hell not?

This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 4:00 AM.