Civil Liberties

Eugene

(66,229 posts) Thu Aug 21, 2025, 10:46 PM Thursday

Trump no longer expected to sign executive order to punish those who burn American flags

Source: CNN

Trump no longer expected to sign executive order to punish those who burn American flags

Updated Aug 21, 2025, 3:40 PM ET
PUBLISHED Aug 21, 2025, 12:56 PM ET
By Alayna Treene

President Donald Trump is no longer expected to sign an executive order on Thursday that would direct the Justice Department to try to bring charges against people who burn the American flag, White House officials told CNN.

A White House official had told CNN earlier Thursday that Trump was expected to sign the order, which was not expected to outright criminalize the act of burning the American flag. Instead, it was expected to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to review cases where the flag had been set on fire and determine whether charges could be brought under existing laws.

That official and another later said Trump was no longer expected to sign it Thursday; it was unclear if the order would be signed at a later date.

A 1989 Supreme Court ruling determined that burning the American flag in political protest is protected under the First Amendment.

-snip-

Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/21/politics/american-flag-burning-executive-order-trump

5 replies

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Highlight:

Trump no longer expected to sign executive order to punish those who burn American flags (Original Post) Eugene Thursday OP

Somebody whispered in trump's ear that if he signs EO 50 million people will burn American flags Silent Type Thursday #1

Seems hypocritical for him to oppose burning the flag when he wipes his ass with it every day. Ocelot II Thursday #2

There should be punishment for those who dry hump it. 3catwoman3 Friday #3

Burning the flag is a protected First Amendment Activity LetMyPeopleVote Friday #4

MaddowBlog-The problem(s) with Trump's radical new executive order on flag burning LetMyPeopleVote Yesterday #5

Silent Type

(10,698 posts)

1. Somebody whispered in trump's ear that if he signs EO 50 million people will burn American flags

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Aug 21, 2025, 10:49 PM

Thursday

at the first opportunity.

Ocelot II

(126,722 posts)

2. Seems hypocritical for him to oppose burning the flag when he wipes his ass with it every day.

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Aug 21, 2025, 11:09 PM

Thursday

3catwoman3

(27,507 posts)

3. There should be punishment for those who dry hump it.

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Aug 22, 2025, 12:01 AM

Friday

LetMyPeopleVote

(168,555 posts)

4. Burning the flag is a protected First Amendment Activity

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Aug 22, 2025, 03:02 PM

Friday

The law on this is well settled

LetMyPeopleVote

(168,555 posts)

5. MaddowBlog-The problem(s) with Trump's radical new executive order on flag burning

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Mon Aug 25, 2025, 05:30 PM

Yesterday

In this country, a presidential executive order cannot override a Supreme Court ruling. On flag burning, Trump doesn't appear to care.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/problems-trumps-radical-new-executive-order-flag-burning-rcna227025

A few weeks after winning the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump said he was prepared to take American citizenship away from those who burn the American flag, insisting there had to be meaningful “consequences” for such protests, even if the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that this is protected speech under the First Amendment.....

In his second term, however, he has apparently decided to take action — or something resembling action. NBC News reported:

Trump signed [an] executive order on Monday aimed at prosecuting people who ‘desecrate’ the American flag, a third fact sheet said. That order, first reported by Fox News, directs Bondi to ‘vigorously prosecute those who violate our laws in ways that involve desecrating the flag, and to pursue litigation to clarify the scope of First Amendment in this area.’

“What the penalty is going to be, if you burn a flag, you get one year in jail — no early exits, no nothing,” the president said, adding: “You will see flag burning stop immediately.”

Trump signs an executive order: "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-08-25T15:11:52.954Z

......In this country, whether Trump likes it or not, a presidential executive order cannot override a Supreme Court ruling. In this country, whether Trump likes it or not, a president cannot create new criminal statutes — measures that would literally imprison Americans — without Congress.

As The New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie wrote in response to the Republican’s new order, “He literally thinks he is a king. ... This entire media blitz for when he signs executive orders is meant to create the impression that they are royal decrees.”

To the extent that the administration tries to implement this policy, litigation would be inevitable. Whether Trump assumes that the far-right high court would rule differently on the underlying issue than it did 35 years ago is unclear. Watch this space.

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