Flags at all federal buildings and national monuments lowered to half-staff in memory of Americans who have died due to the CCP virus, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.
“I will be lowering the flags on all Federal Buildings and National Monuments to half-staff over the next three days in memory of the Americans we have lost to the CoronaVirus,” the president wrote on Twitter.
The flags will remain at half-staff on Memorial Day, Trump said.
“On Monday, the flags will be at half-staff in honor of the men and women in our Military who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Nation,” he wrote.
According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the United States has recorded more than 94,000 deaths due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan, China, late last year.
Trump’s announcement came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote to Trump requesting that federal flags be lowered to half-staff when the death toll reaches 100,000 in the United States.
“It would serve as a national expression of grief so needed by everyone in our country,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote.
Last week, a reporter asked Trump whether he accepted the official death toll numbers, which stood at around 86,000 at the time.
“I’d be very happy if they were lower. I’d like to see numbers lower. I’d like to see no death at all. One death is too many,” Trump said.
“This should have never happened. This came from China. It should have been stopped in China before it got out to the world. We have 186 countries are affected.”
The president has the power to issue a proclamation to order the flags be flown at half-staff at federal buildings across the country, while Pelosi has the power to make the proclamation over the Capitol.
Last year, Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff as a “mark of solemn respect” for the victims of shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas.
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
