Trump keeps saluting during the national anthem - despite flag code regulations saying he shouldn’t

U.S. Code states that those who are not members of the armed forces should put their hands over their hearts during the national anthem

President Donald Trump has made a habit of saluting during the national anthem despite the flag code indicating that he should simply place his hand over his heart.

The regulation, 36 U.S. Code § 301, states that during a rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, “individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note.”

“Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform,” the code continues. “All other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.”

It also notes that “when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.”

Trump saluted during the national anthem at the recent Army-Navy football game, he did so during his inauguration proceedings on Monday and again on Tuesday during a church service at Washington National Cathedral. Everyone else around him placed their hand over their heart - but not the commander-in-chief who went with a salute, despite not being in uniform.

Donald Trump continues to salute during the national anthem despite others around him taking a different approach (AFP via Getty Images)

It’s unclear why Trump chooses to salute during the national anthem as he has never served in the armed forces, famously facing allegations that he cited bone spurs to get out of the draft during the Vietnam War.

Trump began the festivities on Monday night by attending the Commander-in-Chief Ball, where he made his signature dance moves to the song YMCA while holding a sword he used to cut into a cake.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be tonight than with some of the greatest American patriots of all – the men and women of the United States military,” Trump said during his remarks at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Trump also attended the Liberty Ball and the Starlight Ball on Monday night. Following his speech at the Commander-in-Chief Ball, Trump spoke via video link to soldiers at a U.S. base in South Korea.

“How’s Kim Jong Un doing?” he asked about the North Korean leader. “How are you?"

President Donald Trump salutes during his inauguration. He has made it a habit to salute during the national anthem even though flag code says he shouldn’t (AP)

During his inauguration speech Monday, Trump vowed to reinstate members of the military who were dismissed because they refused to take the Covid-19 vaccines. Trump said they would receive back pay, adding they were “unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the Covid vaccine mandate.”

Roughly 8,000 troops were removed from the service because they refused to take a shot during the mandate from August 2021 to January 2023, Politico noted. The military made some exceptions for religions reasons or medical problems.

Trump was quick to sign an executive order on Monday night repealing a measure to allow transgender people to serve in the military. Former President Joe Biden repealed a ban on transgender people in the armed forces from Trump’s first term.

In 2019, the Department of Defense estimated that as many as 8,000 transgender people served in the military, shortly before Trump’s ban.

Another order is set to send the military to the southern border and it instructs "the military to prioritize our own borders and territorial integrity in strategic planning for its operations."