President Donald Trump issued a proclamation ordering American flags be lowered in honor of those killed in a shooting at an Annapolis, Maryland newspaper last week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told TPM early Tuesday.
“Last night, as soon as the President heard about the request from the Mayor he ordered the flags to be lowered and a proclamation is going out momentarily,” she said. “I spoke with the mayor last night and again this morning to let him know the President’s decision.”
Trump issued the proclamation just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, ordering that the flag be flown at half-staff until sunset.
“Our nation shares the sorrow of those affected by the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland,” he wrote. “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.”
The announcement comes on the heels of reports that Trump initially declined a request from the city’s mayor to lower flags to half staff in honor of the victims.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Mayor Gavin Buckley submitted a formal request to the White House over the weekend to lower flags in honor of the five employees of the Capital Gazette who were killed in a mass shooting at the newspaper last week, but it was originally declined.
Buckley said he had hoped lowering the flags would keep the attack at the center of national attention and was “disappointed” by the initial decision.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed, you know? … Is there a cutoff for tragedy?” Buckley told the Baltimore Sun before Trump ultimately ordered the flags to be flown at half-staff. “This was an attack on the press. It was an attack on freedom of speech. It’s just as important as any other tragedy.”
The governor of Maryland had already ordered that flags in the state be lowered from Friday until Monday.
Trump has ordered American flags be lowered to half-staff for nearly every fatal mass shooting that’s received national attention since coming into office, including the attacks at U.S. schools in recent months.
Why would he want to lower flags for “enemies of the people”??
(Dickhead.)
ETA: So, someone managed to get through that thick skull and pea brain that the optics on this are really bad, particularly after his meaningless and empty “thought & prayers” tweet. Must have just fried his grits to make the change. But he’s only doing it for himself, not for those who died or those who remained behind.
(Double dickhead.)
I wish I was surprised or shocked , but that is his way of saying fuck you.
If there is a sentient being on this planet with less empathy it would be front page news.
Our Friend Jon Stewart nailed it
Stewart suggested, “no mater what you do, it always comes with an extra layer of cruelty and dickishness.”
If he had a crumb’s worth of generosity, or even enough shrewdness to pretend to in a way that involved some false humility, he could have made this a gesture he’d have to get some credit for. He could reach out a hand, say what local journalists like these meant traditionally and continue to mean in the lives of their communities. It would have done him some good.
But that’s not Trump. If he perceives you as having wronged him, nothing matters. Not military service, not being a prisoner in that service, not having lost your life, not being a Gold Star parent. If he can present or claim you as a supporter, you have value. If you’re not, in his eyes, you have none, and your death is not worth recognizing or mourning. This is how small, how cruel, how sick he is. He can’t even pretend that your life had value, or care that people see what he really is. #MAGA
ETA Ah I see the last person he talked to said, “Of course you have a heart as big as all outdoors but the Democrats will twist this to make you look bad,” and finally he got annoyed and said fine whatever. A gracious gesture as usual from this sterling fellow. And they’re spinning that the refusal never happened because of course they are.
We note that the above comments were made before TMP switched the headline from White House Silent…and updated the post
Still
Day late
Dollar short
Fucking brain trust in the White House had no Idea this would look bad
Idjits
Trump was waiting to issue the proclamation, pending confirmation from Alex Jones the mass shooting wasn’t a ruse perpetrated by a bunch of crisis actors.