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The inaugural festivities for the swearing-in of Donald Trump as president brought with it a smattering of notable moments, including one potential blunder that has gotten everyone talking. In between suggestions that Elon Musk rigged the Pennsylvania election results, performances by Carrie Underwood and Kid Rock, and a last-minute move to an indoor venue due to the weather, perhaps the buzziest moment arrived during the official swearing-in ceremony, when Trump was officially taking the oath of office.
While taking this oath, it’s common for incoming presidents to place their hand on a Bible, but Trump’s completion of that tradition has been called into question in the wake of his inauguration. So, did Trump put his hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office, and if not, how does that affect his swearing-in as president?
Trump did not place his hand on the Bible while taking the oath.
As reported on social media, Donald Trump was not seen placing his hand on the Bible while being sworn in as the US’ 47th President. Traditionally, president-elect’s raise their right hand as a Supreme Court Chief requests that they repeat the oath of office, and often place their left hand on a Bible during the recitation. While Trump did raise his right hand, his left one was by his side and was not placed on a Bible during the oath, but there were two Bibles nearby.
Trump’s wife and the new First Lady, Melania Trump, was standing next to Trump during the oath, and was seen holding two Bibles. One of those Bibles was reportedly given to the President by his mother when he was a child, while the other, dubbed the Lincoln Bible, was used by Abraham Lincoln during his own inaugural swearing-in back in 1861. So although there were two Bibles near him during his inauguration, Trump didn’t place a hand on either of them during the ceremony, but that has no bearing on the legal fulfilment of the oath.
Placing one’s hand on a Bible is not a legal requirement.
While it has become a common tradition for incoming presidents to place their hand on a Bible during the oath of office — beginning with George Washington in 1789 — the practice is not a legal requirement. Trump bypassing the tradition does not mean his oath of office is invalid, and that much is stated in the US Constitution. “All executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution,” Article VI reads.
“But no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Though he did forgo the tradition of placing his hand on the Bible, Trump did mention religion in his inaugural address while recalling the assassination attempt on his life in July of last year. “I was saved by God to make America great again,” Trump said during his first speech as President. Interestingly, during his own oath, Vice President JD Vance did place his hand on a family Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother.
Trump did place his hand on the Bible during his first inauguration.
Trump leaving his hand by his side is a break from even his own tradition. During his first inauguration in 2017, the president did place his left hand on the two mentioned Bibles; the one belonging to his mother and the so-called Lincoln Bible. It’s not yet known why, for his second inauguration, Trump chose not to place a hand on the Bible.