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Are there verified video or photo sources showing Trump walking by a flag lying on the ground?
Executive summary
Photographs taken as President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Nov. 16, 2025 show an American flag appearing to lie on the South Lawn while he walks past; multiple outlets published the images and social media posts circulated them widely [1] [2]. The White House pushed back, calling claims of a flag touching the ground "fake news" or explaining the flag was lowered for safety, and fact-checking outlets note the flag was attached to a recently installed pole and that the U.S. Flag Code forbids letting the flag touch the ground [3] [4] [5].
1. What the pictures and posts actually show
News photographs and widely shared social posts depict Trump walking on the South Lawn with an American flag visibly low and bunched near the grass behind him; outlets including Newsweek, People and AFP-published photos were among those circulated and cited by social accounts pointing out the image [2] [1] [6]. The viral material is primarily still images from press photographers (Getty/AFP) and screenshots reposted on X and other platforms [6] [7].
2. Official White House response and competing explanations
White House officials issued statements denying a violation of flag protocol and characterized viral claims as inaccurate, with at least one outlet reporting the White House called the image "fake news" while staff said the flag had been lowered for safety around the Marine One landing or placed into a protective container [3] [4] [8]. Some outlets and later posts suggested rotor wash from Marine One or high winds had caused the flag to be downed, and that staff took precautions given conditions [9] [8].
3. What the U.S. Flag Code says and how reporting frames it
The U.S. Flag Code states the national flag "should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground" — a provision cited repeatedly by news and commentary pieces discussing the optics and potential protocol breach [5] [10]. Reporting highlights both the legal/cultural prohibition and the fact that public attention was driven by the emotive symbolism of a president walking past a low flag [2] [10].
4. Timing and provenance of the images — what reporters have established
Outlets place the images on Nov. 16, 2025 as Trump returned from Mar-a-Lago; the photos were taken by on-scene press photographers (e.g., Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty is cited in multiple pieces) and then amplified by social-media accounts that framed the image as a protocol violation [1] [6] [11]. Snopes and other aggregators note the flag was attached to one of two flagpoles Trump had installed earlier in 2025, which is relevant to explanations about why it might have been lowered or disrupted [5] [12].
5. Points of agreement and disputed claims across sources
There is broad agreement that a photograph exists showing a flag low on the lawn as Trump walked by and that the photo went viral [1] [2]. The dispute is factual interpretation: social posts assert the flag touched the ground and therefore the flag code was violated, while the White House and some follow-up reporting say the flag was lowered or protected and deny a violation [3] [4] [9]. Fact-checking coverage reports the image and the flag’s attachment to a new pole but does not uniformly adjudicate a definitive rule-break — reporting frames the claim as contested rather than conclusively proven or disproven [5].
6. What is not settled by available reporting
Available sources do not mention definitive, independently verified video footage that shows the flag making contact with the ground at the precise moment Trump walked past, nor do they cite an on-the-record concession that the flag touched turf while in normal display [1] [2] [3]. Some accounts claim later review showed the flag down before Marine One arrived, but that sequence is presented as an update or explanation rather than an uncontested, documented chain-of-events in all outlets [9].
7. Why this matters beyond the image
Reporting emphasizes that the episode feeds broader political and symbolic narratives: critics used the image to cast the administration as disrespectful or careless, while supporters and the White House framed pushback as partisan amplification of a misleading snapshot [10] [3]. The incident also reopened discussion about changes the president made to the grounds (new flagpoles) and the sensitivity of flag-handling norms in public life [12] [5].
Conclusion and takeaways: There are verified press photographs showing a flag low on the South Lawn as President Trump walked by on Nov. 16, 2025 [1] [2]. Whether the images prove the flag actually touched the ground or that protocol was definitively violated is contested; the White House denies a violation and some reporting offers alternative explanations such as lowering the flag for safety around Marine One [3] [9]. Available sources do not provide an uncontested video timeline showing the flag contacting the ground at the exact moment of Trump’s passage [1] [5].