WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that anyone who burns an American flag should face unspecified “consequences,” such as jail or a loss of citizenship. But the Supreme Court has held that flag-burning is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment, and top congressional Republicans quickly distanced themselves from Trump’s views.
Trump’s words, expressed on Twitter early Tuesday morning, put him at odds with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who was in the majority in the 1989 decision that protected flag burning.
“Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag — if they do, there must be consequences — perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!” Trump said in a tweet.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the tweet.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky weighed in against Trump, saying: “The Supreme Court has held that that activity is a protected First Amendment right, a form of unpleasant speech, and in this country we have a long tradition of respecting unpleasant speech. I happen to support the Supreme Court’s decision on that matter.”
The White House echoed Tuesday that the First Amendment should prevail in such matters.
“We have a responsibility as a country” to carefully protect the rights enshrined in the Constitution, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, adding that the burning of the U.S. flag offends most Americans, himself included.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Congress has no plans to act against flag burning.