The White House soundly rejected President-elect Trump’s suggestion on Tuesday that individuals who burn the American flag should be imprisoned or lose their citizenship.
“This is not the first time that the president-elect has said or tweeted something that President Obama disagrees with,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.
Trump tweeted early Tuesday morning that “nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag” and “there must be consequences” for those who do.
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
Earnest said elected officials, including the incoming Republican president, should strive to protect freedom of speech and expression “not just when we agree with it, but also when we find it offensive.”
“Many Americans — the vast majority of Americans — find the burning of the flag offensive,” Earnest noted. “But we have responsibility as a country to carefully protect our rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.”
“I know that this is a bipartisan sentiment,” he added. “I know that there are conservatives on the Supreme Court that share the view that I just articulated. I know that there are Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress that share the view that I just articulated.”
The controversy surrounding flag-burning has resurfaced in the wake of Trump’s election victory as protesters across the U.S. have lit American flags aflame. However, in addition to the White House, several Republican lawmakers disagreed with Trump’s proposal to crack down on those who carry out the controversial action.
“The [Supreme] Court is probably right that we want to protect those people who want to protest and their right to actually demonstrate disgracing our flag even though so many of us who love our country and love our flag object to it,” Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said on CNN in reference to the landmark 1989 ruling that upheld the right of protesters to burn the American flag.
“Nobody should burn the American flag, but our Constitution secures our right to do so. No president is allowed to burn the First Amendment,” House Liberty Caucus Chairman Justin Amash, R-Mich., wrote on Twitter.
