President Trump broke with tradition on Monday when he did not put his hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office during his second inauguration.
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath, telling Trump, who was walking toward him, to raise his right hand and repeat the words he was about to say.
Trump then raised his right hand, and as Roberts said, “I, Donald John Trump,” first lady Melania Trump was seen approaching with a stack of Bibles.
Instead of placing his left hand on the Bible, he kept his hand at his side and continued to take the oath as his family stood behind him.
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Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds a Bible during the 60th presidential inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Morry Gash/AP Photo, Pool)
Melania Trump held two Bibles – one was Lincoln’s Bible and the other was her husband’s personal Bible given to him by his mother when he was a child. Trump put his hand on both of those Bibles when he took the oath of office in 2017.
Trump’s team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on why the president did not put his hand on the Bible.
Vice President JD Vance placed his hand on the Bible as he took the oath.
Some people on social media said Roberts rushed the oath, while others seemed in disbelief that Trump didn’t put his hand on the Bible, a tradition that dates back to the first inauguration of President George Washington.
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Donald Trump did not put his hand on the Bible when he was sworn in to become the 47th President of the United States. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Although it is traditional for a future president to place his hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office, there is nothing in the US Constitution that requires them to do so.
In fact, presidents “shall be bound by oath or affirmation,” according to Article VI. of the Constitution. The same article states, “…no religious examination shall ever be required as a qualification for any office or public fund under the United States.”
Article II of the Constitution it also says that the president must take an oath of office before taking office, although religion is not mentioned.
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President Donald Trump is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts in 2017. (Joe Raedle)
The Constitution spells out the exact language to be used in the 34-word oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will do it to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Many judges have used the four little words, “by God.” It is not legally or constitutionally required, unlike other federal oaths that refer to the words as standard procedure. Historians have debated whether President Washington set a precedent by adding the phrase himself during his first acceptance, but contemporary reports make no mention of such advertising.
Abraham Lincoln is said to have said this spontaneously in 1861, and other presidents have followed suit over the years. Traditionally, a Bible is used, with the president placing one hand on it while raising the other during the oath.
The Constitution also does not require the president or members of Congress or federal judges to take the oath of office before a Supreme Court justice, although they only do so for inaugurations, most of the time.
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When Washington took the first oath in 1789, Supreme Court was not yet formed, so the highest-ranking judge in New York paid his respects at the Federal Hall on Wall Street.
Four years later, Associate Justice William Cushing was sworn in for a second term in Washington, beginning a Supreme Court tradition.
Fox News’ Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
