President Donald Trump is stamping his authority on America’s presence around the world with a sweeping new order that only the Stars and Stripes will be flown from diplomatic buildings.
The order comes from his State Department, banning Pride and Black Lives Matter flags.
‘Starting immediately, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content,’ it states, according to the Washington Free Beacon, which obtained the text.
‘The flag of the United States of America united all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy.
‘These values, which are the bedrock of our great country, are shared by all American citizens, past and present.’
There are exceptions, however, to the order issued by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
State Department facilities will still be allowed to fly the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flag and the Wrongful Detainees flag.
Rainbow flags have long been a point of contention for Republicans.
The US national flag and an LGBT pride flag on the front facade of the US Embassy in Moscow in June 2020. The new order prohibits such displays
A ‘Black Lives Matter’ banner marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis USA police officer, hangs from the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain, in 2021
In 2021, after the flags were flown above U.S. embassies to recognize Pride month, Republicans moved to try to ensure it would neve happen again.
They introduced the ‘Old Glory Only Act,’ to ban any flags other than the U.S. flag but it failed to pass.
And the Biden White House last year agreed to include a similar provision allowing only U.S. flags in a mammoth spending bill as part of a compromise with conservatives to avert a shutdown.
The Biden administration said it would move quickly to repeal it.
This time around, prominent Trump allies welcomed the move.
‘I’m not tired of winning!!’ Rep. Marjorie Taylor posted to X, echoing an old line of Trump’s.
