In July 2020, Trump’s Pentagon issued a policy authorizing only certain flags on military installations and was seen as a way for then-defense secretary Mark Esper to issue a de facto ban on displaying the Confederate flag without it being mentioned specifically. “There won’t be an exception made this month for the pride flag,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. He said that the decision was made because it could open the door for other challenges to the rule set in place in July. “This is no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people that (are from) the LGBTQ+ community, the personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department,” Kirby added. “We are proud of them.”