# When Trump dies, will he lie in state? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 3, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557 "2023-09-03T21:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/81 "2023-09-04T21:29:19Z")
Sarah Palin was similarly un-invited, which TBH surprised me a bit. While Billy Graham definitely wasn’t a president, he did lie in state, and the Dumpster wasn’t welcome there either. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/82 "2023-09-04T21:30:39Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > > Two words: presidential library. > > My gawd, what is going to be there? _One Fish, Two Fish_? A complete set of EC comics? _What You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (but Were Afraid to Ask)_ [Trump’s personal copy]? A complete set of _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit issues? Since the presidential library holds all the records of the administration, rather than the president’s personal reading material I think it would be great fun to have some academic go through all the various PowerPoints and briefing documents prepared for the president to read or be shown. The key thing they’d find is Obama’s were written to be read by someone with a college education and Trump’s were written to a 2nd grade (age 7) reading level. It’d also be fun to count how often the president’s name appeared in the documents. As in once per 100 pages in Obama’s stuff and 10x per page in Trump’s stuff. etc. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/83 "2023-09-04T21:33:37Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > > I see a coast-to-coast funeral procession – like Lincoln’s train, except people don’t take trains any more. > > I was going to do a “When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom’d” parody but honestly, I can’t do that to Walt Whitman. Neither can I, but I thought it might be worth a try until I found out how LONG that poem is. I _did_ manage to cobble a couplet together: _When carrion-flowers last in the Rotunda bloomed And the reality star finally sagged in the rally of the brainless in the night,_ Sorry, that man would never be worthy of the effort required to proceed beyond that point. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/84 "2023-09-04T22:37:59Z")
I also found this in a wiki article on the [Lincoln Catafalque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Catafalque), the pedestal the coffin is placed on if someone lies in state in the capitol rotunda: > [@](#): > > No law, written rule, or regulation specifies who may lie in state; use of the Rotunda is controlled by concurrent action of the House and Senate. Any person who has rendered distinguished service to the nation may lie in state if the family so wishes and Congress approves. In the case of unknown soldiers, the President or the appropriate branch of the armed forces initiates the action. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/85 "2023-09-04T22:55:20Z")
He can lie in the state of Florida. He’s been doing it for years. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/86 "2023-09-04T23:13:48Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > > Two words: presidential library. > > My gawd, what is going to be there? _One Fish, Two Fish_? A complete set of EC comics? _What You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (but Were Afraid to Ask)_ [Trump’s personal copy]? A complete set of _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit issues? _The Hall of Tweets_ ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/87 "2023-09-04T23:24:50Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > _The Hall of Tweets_ OMFG! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 : water : ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/88 "2023-09-04T23:49:15Z")
I bet he hasn’t made any plans for or against lying in state or for a funeral at all, and the decisions will be left to his family after he dies. To plan for your own funeral would be to admit that you are not Superman or Jesus, and he could never admit that or bear to think about it. Too much pain for the narcissistic mind to contemplate. Any lying in state in DC would really be a circus. I can’t imagine his family would want that, even if they are otherwise attention-seeking narcissists just like Daddy. There would be protestors somewhere nearby and somebody trying to break in and get a selfie with his dead body. There’d no doubt be security, but there’d at least be protestors and weirdos attracted nearby. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/89 "2023-09-05T00:16:29Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > To plan for your own funeral would be to admit that you are not Superman or Jesus, Joke is on him, then, because Superman and Jesus both had funerals, even if they didn’t stay dead. (And yes, I’ll go with “In the Jesusverse, he didn’t stay dead.”) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/90 "2023-09-05T01:17:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Since the presidential library holds all the records of the administration They’re going to need an entire wing just for the legal documents: indictments, motions, appeals etc. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/91 "2023-09-05T01:40:43Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > My gawd, what is going to be there? _One Fish, Two Fish_? A complete set of EC comics? _What You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (but Were Afraid to Ask)_ [Trump’s personal copy]? A complete set of _Sports Illustrated_ Swimsuit issues? Yes, and also, the TV he spends hours a day with watching FoxNews. After Trump is gone for good, the government needs to take Mar-a-Lago, by eminent domain, as the museum part of the library. Decorate half as it was when Marjorie Merriweather Post lived there, and half with Trump’s decor. Should give the tour guides good compare and contrast points. I want to go. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/92 "2023-09-05T18:50:16Z")
Similarly, I wondered if a Democratic President would order flags to be flown at half-staff. President Eisenhower solved that dilemma with a [proclamation](https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/proclamations/03044.html) that > 1. The flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions for the period indicated upon the death of any of the following-designated officials or former officials of the United States: > (a) The President or a former President: for thirty days from the day of death. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/93 "2023-09-05T18:55:54Z")
Not really. A proclamation is just another decision by a president. it’s binding until another sitting president decides it isn’t. So far, Ike’s decision hasn’t needed revisiting. But the future is a very big place full of all sorts of exciting possibilities. It’d be best if trump lasts long enough in slobbering impotent incompetence that a national grave-spitting-on would be uncontroversial. I doubt that will come to pass. Shame. Truth be told, nowadays US flags seem to fly at half-staff for any reason or no reason with amazing regularity. ISTM that when I was a kid it was a rare big deal. In the last 10+ years, so over multiple presidents, it seems to be more like every other month for something. If they did lower them for trump’s passing I’m not sure I’d notice among all the other lowerings for reasons indeterminate. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/94 "2023-09-05T19:02:10Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again (2015) > Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America (2016) I have to say that gave me a chuckle. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/95 "2023-09-06T13:47:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But the future is a very big place full of all sorts of exciting possibilities. This can go alongside “May you live in interesting times” as one of the most ominous phrases I’ve ever encountered. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/96 "2023-09-06T17:04:54Z")
Thank you. It was meant to read that way, at least for the highly perceptive such as yourself. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/97 "2023-09-06T17:14:16Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’m sure that if Trump dies, he will, like other dead Presidents, lie in state. And hundreds of thousands of Americans will line up to pay their last respects. Addressing the OP and not participating in the “Another thread to bag on Trump” parade. This is to me an example of respect the office even if you do not respect the person. It would not be Trump lying in state just like it won’t be Obama or Biden. It is a former president lying in state regardless of political party or views. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/98 "2023-09-06T19:46:31Z")
They couldn’t anyway, they’d be dead. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/99 "2023-09-06T20:12:42Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Probably because if you don’t attend other people’s funerals, they won’t attend yours. > [@E-DUB](#): > > They couldn’t anyway, they’d be dead Well, yes, that’s the joke. Apparently first made by Yogi Berra. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557/100 "2023-09-06T20:30:40Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > This is to me an example of respect the office even if you do not respect the person. It would not be Trump lying in state just like it won’t be Obama or Biden. It is a former president lying in state regardless of political party or views Sure, he can lie in state somewhere, but _not in the capitol building_. His minions invaded it, desecrated it while he did nothing. He doesn’t get to enter it even dead. There’s precedent for presidents lying in state elsewhere, both in DC and other places. Let’s do that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-trump-dies-will-he-lie-in-state/989557.md?page=6)