An American flag has been spotted lying down on the South Lawn of the White House – usually a sign of ‘dire distress.’
The Stars and Stripes were blown down from Donald Trump‘s newly-installed flagpole by the rotor wash – the rush of air created by helicopter blades – when Marine One came into land on Sunday night.
Trump was pictured walking in front of the downed banner as he returned from Mar-a-Lago.
The United States Flag Code, which is federal law, provides guidelines and etiquette for displaying and respecting the Star Spangled Banner.
‘The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property,’ the law says.
‘The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground.’
If a flag accidentally touches the ground, tradition calls for it to be disposed of or retired.
The use of upside down flags as distress signals dates back to naval warfare traditions predating the United States itself. It has also been used as a form of protest, for example during the Civil War to express suffering and division.
Donald Trump returns to the White House on November 16. The flag on the newly installed flagpole was blown down by the rotor wash of Marine One
The president installed two large new flagpoles on the White House grounds in June. The poles, standing at almost 100ft tall, carry huge Stars and Stripes banners which are visible from across Washington, DC.
Trump called the flag poles, on the North and South lawns, the ‘most magnificent’ he had ever seen.
They are among a number of renovations which the president has undertaken during his second term, including a controversial new $300 million ballroom, which has necessitated demolishing the East Wing.
