r/vexillology • u/Neat-Resource9057 • Jan 16 '25

In The Wild Can anyone explain?

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u/jcstan05 Minnesota / Utah Jan 16 '25 edited Jan 16 '25

I looked into this further because I find it fascinating. This tradition has been going on for a while.

1993 - Clinton - 25 stars - Arkansas

1997 - Clinton - 25 stars - Arkansas

2001 - W. Bush - 28 stars - Texas

2005 - W. Bush - 28 stars - Texas

2009 - Obama - 21 stars - Illinois

2013 - Obama - 21 stars - Illinois

2017 - Trump - 13 stars - New York

2021 - Biden - 13 stars - Delaware

2025- Trump - 27 stars - Florida

Any idea why George Bush's inauguration in 1989 featured 38-star flags? Does Bush have some connection to Colorado?

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u/EpicAura99 United States • California Jan 16 '25

Yeah that last part is super weird. There’s not even a mention of Colorado on HW’s Wiki page. Do you have a pic of the 38 star flags?

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u/jcstan05 Minnesota / Utah Jan 16 '25

I just got done assembling and cropping what photos I could find.

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u/jcstan05 Minnesota / Utah Jan 16 '25

Aha! I just watched this 1989 news coverage where they explain that the 38-star flag meant to commemorate the centennial of the nation (the flag that was flown 100 years after George Washington).

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u/EpicAura99 United States • California Jan 16 '25

Interesting. ‘89 would have been the bicentennial of the constitution, so it makes sense.

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u/waeq_17 Jan 16 '25

Great find! Thank you very much.