Abbott’s concern may well be that the left will conflate the symbology of commemorating the death of one president with the inauguration of another, and, in all candor, some on the left will certainly try to make that comparison. The president-elect certainly is; he took to his Truth Social platform to express that view:
President-elect Trump’s full post reads:
The Democrats are all “giddy” about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at “half mast” during my Inauguration. They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves. Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years – It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast. Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
This has happened once before: Flags were at half-mast to mark the death of former President Harry Truman when Richard Nixon was inaugurated for his second term in 1973.
Given how that certainly foretold of worse things to come, I can understand Gov. Abbott’s decision.