BATON ROUGE — Republican Gov. Jeff Landry said Friday he would fly a "Make America Great Again" flag at the state-owned governor's mansion as President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.

The leader of the state Democratic Party said the act would be an inappropriate use of political messaging using government resources. Landry said Trump's inauguration begins a "renaissance" worthy of celebrating by raising the president-elect's political banner Monday.

Democratic Party Chairman Randal Gaines said the flag is not associated with any official governmental entity and that he needed to object.

“Furthermore, MAGA has been associated with conspiratorial, inaccurate, ruthless propaganda and organizations that employ harmful violent tactics, including the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol," he said. 

The Baton Rouge Branch of the NAACP urged Governor Landry to reconsider his decision and to only fly the American Flag as Inauguration Day falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

"We strongly believe that the Governor’s Mansion, a public space representing all citizens of Louisiana, must reflect the values of unity and shared purpose. The MAGA flag, widely associated with division and exclusion, is incompatible with the principles we honor on Martin Luther King Jr. Day," the organization said. 

Landry's statement, which also called on others to fly the MAGA flag, noted that Trump won 312 votes at the Electoral College. The figure is the 22nd-highest out of the 28 elections held with more than 500 electoral votes at stake. He also called the 77 million votes Trump received in 2024 "overwhelming;" President Joe Biden picked up 81 million votes in 2020.

“Today, under President Trump, begins a renaissance in this Nation," Landry wrote. "One where America and her people will always come first. In Louisiana, we think that is worthy of celebrating!"