A U.S. flag was later raised on the south lawn around 1 p.m. at a ceremony that included Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The couple was at the White House to watch the swearing in of Charles Kushner, Jared's father, as U.S. ambassador to France.

Mr. Curl covered the White House for a dozen years as a correspondent for the Washington Times. He also ran the Drudge Report for four years as the morning editor.

President Trump installed nearly 100-foot flagpoles on the North and South lawns of the White House, and we compared their height to other Washington, D.C., landmarks.