- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he does not support the state's flag ban during his monthly news conference.
- He also said he doesn't approve of Salt Lake City's new flags.
- Cox described both the law and the alternative flags as "dumb."
“They are dumb flags and it was a dumb bill,” Gov. Spencer Cox said Tuesday when speaking about Utah’s flag ban bill and the alternative flags Salt Lake City approved in order to get around the bill.
The comments were made during the governor’s monthly press conference when he was asked how he felt about Mayor Erin Mendenhall adopting three new city flags.
These new flags — adding the sego lily logo from Salt Lake City’s flag to the Juneteenth, Progress Pride and transgender flags —were meant to get around the flag ban bill passed by the Utah Legislature.
The new flags do not replace the city’s primary flag, which was adopted in 2020.
Cox repeated what he has said in the past, including that he doesn’t support HB77, which banned the display of most flags by public school teachers and government entities. But the governor also made it clear that he doesn’t approve of how Salt Lake City handled the situation.
“I’m sure they feel great that they got around this dumb law, and they did it with dumb flags, and it’s just the whole thing’s dumb,” Cox said.
The governor said he feels bad for those being left out, such as Japanese Americans and Polynesian Americans.
Cox did give a suggestion as to what he thinks should be done instead.
“We should raise the American flag, and let’s unify around that, that it’s a great flag that represents everyone,” Cox said.
As he spoke about the flag ban and the alternative Salt Lake City flags, the governor used the word “dumb” seven times in less than a minute.
He ended his comments on the situation with a simple sentiment.
“We’re living in the dumbest timeline,” Cox said.