Removal of flag honoring veterans from White House sparks anger

September 11, 20205:24 AM Updated a day ago


Removal of flag honoring veterans from White House sparks anger


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-veterans/removal-of-flag-honoring-veterans-from-white-house-sparks-anger-idUSKBN2621DT

By Alexandra Alper, Idrees Ali

5 Min Read

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A decision by the Trump administration earlier this year to move the flag honoring missing war veterans from a prominent position atop the White House to a less visible spot on the South Lawn has angered some veterans and lawmakers, who see it as disrespectful and potentially illegal.

The flag is dedicated to prisoners of war and service members who are missing in action. According to a White House video posted in June, it was relocated in a private ceremony with full military honors, months after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill requiring the flag to be flown at certain federal properties including the White House every day.

The revelations come amid growing questions over Trump’s respect for the military, after a report last week by the Atlantic magazine alleging that Trump had called fallen American soldiers “losers” and “suckers” sparked outrage and controversy.

Trump denied the assertions, but has publicly disparaged the service of the late Senator John McCain, a war veteran, and was accused of criticizing his own generals in excerpts of a forthcoming book titled “Rage,” by Bob Woodward.

“It’s bad enough that President Trump publicly ridicules American heroes like Senator McCain and others who were captured on the battlefield. He inexplicably promotes the Confederate flag but fails to fly the POW/MIA flag,” said Democratic Senator Jack Reed, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It’s part of a pattern of disrespect by President Trump toward those who honorably served our nation.”..................................

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FILE PHOTO: A Prisoner Of War-Missing In Action flag flies below the American Flag at the White House ahead of U.S. President Trump's meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner