President-elect Donald Trump railed against an order to fly American flags at half-staff in honor of the late President Jimmy Carter, complaining that they would be in that position “for the first time ever during the inauguration of a future president.”

“No one wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. “Let’s see how it turns out,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday, baselessly accusing Democrats of being “cocky” about flags being half-staff at his inauguration.

The flying of flags at half-staff to honor a deceased political figure or to commemorate a special occasion is a tradition that transcends political ideologies. Traditionally, flags are lowered for 30 days to mourn the death of a current or former US president.

Per President Joe Biden’s proclamation, flags will be at half-staff until a week after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Since the order to lower the flags is a proclamation from a sitting president, Trump will not be able to do anything about it until after he takes office.

Trump had a strained relationship with Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100. although it was significantly less acrimonious than his relations with other former Democratic presidents. Trump called Carter the “worst president” and mocked his presidency while attacking Biden during the 2024 presidential campaign. Carter similarly criticized Trump’s behavior, suggesting that his 2016 election victory was illegitimate and citing Russian “interference.”

However, after Carter’s death, Trump wrote a post about him on Truth Social that was free of attacks. He said Carter “did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.” He has also said he will attend Carter’s funeral.

Notably, Trump has had a problem in the past with flags flying at half-staff in honor of a deceased politician. In 2018, just two days after Sen. John McCain’s death, Trump flew the White House flag at full capacity, drawing intense criticism from Republicans, Democrats and veterans groups. Trump, whose relationship with McCain was extremely strained, eventually relented and ordered the flag lowered again.

Trump was not invited to McCain’s funeral and complained months later that he received “no thanks” for giving the Arizona Republican “the kind of funeral he wanted.”