Featured Image Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
People are convinced they've spotted an 'omen' in an 'insane' photo of United States President Donald Trump.
The photo, which is doing the rounds on social media at the moment, shows an American flag seemingly lying on the ground at the White House - something which has raised eyebrows among critics and MAGA heads alike online.
Now, the US flag code is clear in stating that the flag shouldn’t touch the ground or anything beneath it.
Cornell Law School cites the guidance as: "The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise."
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The photo, snapped on Sunday (16 November), sees Trump, 79, walking across the South Lawn after a weekend at Mar-a-Lago while the flag sits on the grass behind him.
Another image circulating on social media also appears to show it on the ground with no one else in sight.
The White House, however, has disputed such reports as 'fake news'.
After seeing the snaps, one X user commented: "The flag on the ground at the White House. Yikes!"
"Is this an omen?" questioned a second, while a third chimed in: "Seeing the American flag lying on the White House lawn as President Trump returns is just absolutely f’ing insane…"
A fourth penned: "Ain’t no damn way that flag is in the ground. Please tell me this is a fake photo. My goodness."
Someone else shared: "The metaphor is a little on the nose."
Another echoed: "Perfectly describes this Trump administration."
Earlier this year (25 August), Trump signed an executive order targeting flag desecration.
The order in question pushes the Attorney General to pursue federal charges, test the limits of First Amendment protections and refer cases to state or local prosecutors when their laws apply.
It also authorises immigration officials to deny visas, revoke residency or remove foreign nationals if they are found to have desecrated the flag.
The order, which describes the flag as a sacred national emblem, argues that burning or defacing it shows hostility toward the United States and can be used to intimidate or incite violence.
"The American flag is the most sacred and cherished symbol of the United States of America, and desecrating it is uniquely and inherently offensive and provocative. It is a statement of contempt and hostility toward our Nation, and an act used by groups of foreign nationals calculated to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans," the official White House Fact Sheet outlined.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Tyla: "The beautiful American flag on the White House South Lawn that was recently installed by President Trump never touched the ground.
"Due to the high winds on Sunday evening in the Washington, D.C. area, the flag was lowered into a special container out of an abundance of caution during the Marine One landing."