Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

BumRushDaShow

(146,207 posts)
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 07:15 PM Jan 20

Trump doesn't place hand on Bible during swearing-in

Source: ABC News

January 20, 2025, 5:21 PM


President Donald Trump did not place his hand on the Bible as he took the oath of office during his inauguration on Monday.

First lady Melania Trump stood next to the president holding two Bibles, but the 47th president of the United States didn't place his hand on either as he raised his right hand to take the presidential oath, which Chief Justice John Roberts issued.

Melania Trump was holding her husband's personal Bible, which was given to him by his mother, and the Lincoln Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used to take the oath of office in 1861.


Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the Capitol, Jan. 20, 2025.
Morry Gash/Pool/AP


There is no legal requirement for the president to place his hand on the Bible. According to Article VI, Clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution, which covers oaths of office, members of Congress, state legislatures, and executive and judicial officers throughout the country are bound "by oath or affirmation" to support the Constitution.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-inauguration-hand-bible-swearing-in/story?id=117897715



More sane-washing.
39 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump doesn't place hand on Bible during swearing-in (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Jan 20 OP
He forgot VMA131Marine Jan 20 #1
Yep, he forgot. HPM Jan 20 #17
He ain't tellin' no fucking truth, that's for sure Blue Owl Jan 20 #2
Left hand fingers are crossed. ** NGeorgian Jan 20 #3
His hand would probably catch fire anyways LW1977 Jan 20 #4
She looks like the undertaker in an old western. twodogsbarking Jan 20 #5
Either that or the madam. HPM Jan 20 #15
Both. twodogsbarking Jan 21 #25
What is up with her outfit? Torrent63 Jan 20 #6
Isaac from Children of the Corn (1984) n/t Grokenstein Jan 20 #13
Melania is Death, the pale rider of the Apocalypse. LudwigPastorius Jan 20 #20
Nope...Melania Van Cleef Bengus81 Jan 21 #35
Miss Quaker Oats EastBayGuy Thursday #39
Two things Javaman Jan 20 #7
About the Trump Bible Shoonra Jan 20 #8
Well, apparently his name was on the front cover. Igel Jan 21 #32
That suits me. TomSlick Jan 20 #9
What does this mean? countryken Jan 20 #10
This should be pointed out DENVERPOPS Jan 20 #11
I hope they do, the sanctimonious shitheads. Why doesn't Trump yank their tax exemption? raccoon Jan 21 #24
True. Every phony evangelical should have this pointed out to them. travelingthrulife Jan 21 #30
Did you also see DENVERPOPS Jan 21 #37
They'll say nothing and once again showing their religious BS hypocrisy...... Bengus81 Jan 21 #36
Why bother even bringing the Bibles? A roll of toilet paper would be more appropriate. littlemissmartypants Jan 20 #12
Oaf of office truthisfreedom Jan 20 #14
Why should Rebl2 Jan 20 #16
Can you imagine the screeching if a Dem had done this? Betty Boom Jan 20 #18
Starting a republican tradition. No Bible for swearing in as President. keithbvadu2 Jan 20 #19
He was timms139 Jan 20 #21
It would have burst into flames if he had. cstanleytech Jan 21 #22
He has the mentality of a child. OrwellwasRight Jan 21 #23
He can't get in trouble for violating the oath, ... JustABozoOnThisBus Jan 21 #26
Likely right, but ... OrwellwasRight Jan 22 #38
For Trump, the Bible is like sun light for a vampire or Kryptonite for Superman surfered Jan 21 #27
The real question to ask is why is anyone supposed to PoindexterOglethorpe Jan 21 #28
What is even more interesting BumRushDaShow Jan 21 #29
I still find it bizarre and, frankly, wrong. PoindexterOglethorpe Jan 21 #31
It's Donnie... Traditions, rules and laws don't matter to him and everyone loves him for it... Blue_Tires Jan 21 #33
Democrats need to make a huge deal out of this: Why did trump refuse to touch a bible??? Number9Dream Jan 21 #34

HPM

(20 posts)
17. Yep, he forgot.
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 09:10 PM
Jan 20

Melania wouldn’t be standing there holding not one but two Bibles unless he was supposed to put his grubby paw on them. I’m surprised she didn’t remind him. She looks like an idiot standing there. He is demented.

Torrent63

(13 posts)
6. What is up with her outfit?
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 07:39 PM
Jan 20

I believe Clint Eastwood wore the same outfit in Pale Rider. I wonder if he knows she borrowed it?

LudwigPastorius

(11,421 posts)
20. Melania is Death, the pale rider of the Apocalypse.
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 10:38 PM
Jan 20

She's riding a pale horse. (Trump, who acts like a horse's ass, covers himself with bronzer to hide his paleness, and touts Ivermectin, a horse medication)

They are given the power to kill 1/4 of the earth's population with bird flu pestilence.

Javaman

(63,275 posts)
7. Two things
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 07:41 PM
Jan 20

1) this is trumps Equivalent of crossing your fingers behind you back 2) he shows his true colors. Never ever religious. Not that he ever was but it shows he played the religious right wing like a harp

Shoonra

(574 posts)
8. About the Trump Bible
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 07:58 PM
Jan 20
Melania Trump was holding her husband's personal Bible, which was given to him by his mother, and the Lincoln Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used to take the oath of office in 1861.


Trump's "personal Bible" is a Revised Standard Version. I think it is significant that Trump did not make use of a "Trump Bible" - a $70 KJV with the Declaration of Independence and the original Constitution (but none of the Amendments after the first ten) and bound by imitation leather with Trump's name appearing prominently on the front cover.

Igel

(36,485 posts)
32. Well, apparently his name was on the front cover.
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 02:00 PM
Jan 21

It was embossed back in '55.

(My NKJV Bible from the '83 fall "Feast" has my name embossed on in, so it's not like it's a big deal.)

The video also shows that the "set up" for the swearing in ceremony was a bit botched. She wasn't in place when hand was raised and got there as recitation started.

Couldn't let a quick pause to put hand in Bible interrupt the impression of the ceremony.

TomSlick

(12,073 posts)
9. That suits me.
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 08:17 PM
Jan 20

I'd prefer he never touched a bible.

I suppose if he decided to actually read the bible, it would be a good thing. But I'm not counting on it.

countryken

(116 posts)
10. What does this mean?
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 08:22 PM
Jan 20

Does it mean this travesty at the Capitol doesn't count and he's not really the prez?

DENVERPOPS

(10,523 posts)
11. This should be pointed out
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 08:31 PM
Jan 20

to the Evangelials and Fanatical Religious Right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the first sign of him throwing them under the bus.......He has openly told them all at rallies that if they vote for him, they will never need to vote again.....WTF did they THINK that statement meant??????????

The "Religious" that voted for him are gonna get screwed over, just like all other 74+ million that voted for him....along with all those Dems that didn't vote for him.

raccoon

(31,559 posts)
24. I hope they do, the sanctimonious shitheads. Why doesn't Trump yank their tax exemption?
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 05:24 AM
Jan 21

I know it ain't gonna happen but I wish it would for those churches that might as well be "The Republican First Church of Bumfuck, USA."

travelingthrulife

(1,325 posts)
30. True. Every phony evangelical should have this pointed out to them.
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 10:30 AM
Jan 21

The first clue he threw them under the bus was letting the Tech Bros and rich assholes take their place at inauguration.

DENVERPOPS

(10,523 posts)
37. Did you also see
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 07:47 PM
Jan 21

where he took away the seats of Republican Governors at the inauguration and gave them to Corporate/Oligarch types????????
They all were a major driving force to his success! I guess he showed them......

Bengus81

(7,712 posts)
36. They'll say nothing and once again showing their religious BS hypocrisy......
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 05:13 PM
Jan 21

Just like they look the other way for the endless hatred of almost everyone non-white,the upside down Bible,the grab em' by the pussy,the fucking a porn star.

Those "evangelists" in the PUKE party are as phony as Trump.........

littlemissmartypants

(26,351 posts)
12. Why bother even bringing the Bibles? A roll of toilet paper would be more appropriate.
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 08:38 PM
Jan 20

I guess Melanoma needed something to hold besides a stack of hundreds.

I fu>king hate these people.

Betty Boom

(285 posts)
18. Can you imagine the screeching if a Dem had done this?
Mon Jan 20, 2025, 10:06 PM
Jan 20

I don’t give a shit about him, not putting his hand on the Bible. Mainly because I wouldn’t want to see the Lincoln Bible go up in flames.

But can you imagine if a democrat taking the oath had done this? They would be declaring the oath invalid and screeching to high heaven, even though there’s nothing in the constitution that says they have to put their hand on the Bible.

OrwellwasRight

(5,227 posts)
23. He has the mentality of a child.
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 02:35 AM
Jan 21

Like as if his hand is not on the Bible he can’t get in trouble for violating the oath.

Like crossing your fingers. But only a CHILD would think this.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,920 posts)
26. He can't get in trouble for violating the oath, ...
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 08:32 AM
Jan 21

... no matter where that hand has been.

He's the president, and he has the Extreme Court in his pocket.

OrwellwasRight

(5,227 posts)
38. Likely right, but ...
Wed Jan 22, 2025, 12:23 PM
Jan 22

1) his failure to put his hand on the Bible is evidence that he is dealing with grown up obligations in childish ways, revealing he has foreknowledge that he will “cheat” on the oath, and …

2) there may indeed be some limits to his sycophants on the court: for example they did not stop his sentencing, so his childish games reveal he has some kind of minor fear of “getting in trouble”

Of course not enough fear to do the right thing, just that his little maneuvers are revealing to us.

There are many instances in history of an authoritarian ruler’s sycophants turning away from them (sometimes just to chase the next big thing), so don’t discount the possibility that Thomas and company eventually grow weary of the President, even if only to follow the brighter bulb who now lives in the VP’s residence.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(27,021 posts)
28. The real question to ask is why is anyone supposed to
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 09:13 AM
Jan 21

swear on a bible? That introduces religion where none should be.

BumRushDaShow

(146,207 posts)
29. What is even more interesting
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 10:23 AM
Jan 21

is that the language in the Constitution for the oath in Article II Sect. 1 also says "swear or affirm", meaning it was explicitly attempting to accommodate those forbidden to "swear" (e.g., usually attributed to Quakers) and sort of neutralize the religious aspect.

But in the case of what you are talking about, it's a ceremonial feature.

When Keith Ellison (now MN AG) was first sworn in for his first term in Congress almost 20 years ago, he caused head explosions for wanting to use a Qur'an for that purpose. HE ended up using one that was owned by Thomas Jefferson -

Thomas Jefferson's Copy of the Koran To Be Used in Congressional Swearing-in Ceremony

IMHO, it's like the flag pin, that has politicized enforcement. Federal employees are not "sworn in" with a bible. In fact, if you watch any hearings where witnesses are giving testimony, none of them are being "sworn in" using a bible (or anything else).

 

Blue_Tires

(57,596 posts)
33. It's Donnie... Traditions, rules and laws don't matter to him and everyone loves him for it...
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 02:10 PM
Jan 21

He's literally the Roadrunner who constantly defies all laws of physics

Number9Dream

(1,678 posts)
34. Democrats need to make a huge deal out of this: Why did trump refuse to touch a bible???
Tue Jan 21, 2025, 04:52 PM
Jan 21

The retrumplicans would already have this all over the media if it were a Democrat not swearing on a bible. The bible belt would be up in arms.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Trump doesn't place hand ...