FLYING HIGH

Biden Administration Dumps Trump’s Pride Flag Ban at Worldwide Embassies

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is said to have told U.S. diplomatic outposts around the world that they should feel free to fly the Pride flag.

Another one of the Trump era’s most incredibly petty and obstructive policies has reportedly been ditched by the Biden administration. According to Foreign Policy magazine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told U.S. diplomatic outposts around the world that they should feel free to fly the Pride flag on the same flagpole as the Stars and Stripes. It’s a reversal of the Trump administration’s position that blocked U.S. embassies from flying the rainbow flag on official flagpoles—alongside the U.S. flag—during LGBTQ Pride Month. Foreign Policy reports that Blinken sent a cable to diplomats to clarify that the Trump policy no longer stands and they should not hold back from flying the Pride flag on May 17—the international day against homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia—as well for the entirety of June, which is Pride month. Blinken reportedly added that his policy reversal doesn’t mean diplomats must fly the flag, noting that they should do what is “appropriate in light of local conditions.”