On Monday, President Trump addressed why he wouldn’t lower the U.S. flag to half-mast this summer following the assassination of a Minnesota Democratic legislator. He indicated that since the governor hadn’t requested it, he felt no reason to act.
His comments arose during an unrelated event in the Oval Office. He was questioned about his decision to lower the flag after the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week. However, he did not mention Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman’s situation. Multiple news reports provided coverage of this situation.
“If the governor had asked me to do it, I would have, but the governor of Minnesota didn’t reach out,” Trump said, not specifically naming Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee from the last election.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought about it, but if I’d been asked, I think I would have done it,” Trump added. He emphasized that he would have complied if there had been a request from the governor.
In response, a spokesperson for Governor Walz expressed hope that Trump would embrace a role as president for all Americans.
Hortman, who was a notable figure and had served for over two decades, was tragically shot and killed in June at the age of 55. Her husband was also targeted during this attack, which officials have described as politically motivated.
After the incident, Trump condemned the violence, stating on his platform that such acts were unacceptable in the U.S. However, he hesitated to reach out and express condolences to Walz, suggesting it wouldn’t be worthwhile.
“I think there’s a lot of criticism aimed at the governor of Minnesota. But I haven’t reached out,” he mentioned to reporters in June. “What’s the point of calling him?”
Following Kirk’s untimely death, Trump has intensified his rhetoric against the left, despite experiencing attacks from individuals with opposing views himself.
On Wednesday, he ordered flags at all government buildings and military offices to be lowered to half-staff in memory of the Turning Point USA co-founders, one of whom died in a shooting at Utah Valley University. The flags remained at half-staff until sunset on Sunday.
Additionally, Eric Trump announced that flags would be at half-staff at all facilities associated with the Trump organization.
