On Monday, Jan. 20, former President Donald Trump took the oath of office without placing his hand on the Bibles held by his wife, Melania Trump.
This departure from tradition has sparked significant online discussion and raised questions about the symbolic importance of the gesture.
Trump, who previously followed the tradition during his first inauguration in 2017, chose this time to keep his hand by his side as Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath. During his 2017 swearing-in, Trump placed his right hand atop two Bibles, one gifted by his mother and the other used by President Abraham Lincoln.
The decision to forgo the customary hand-on-Bible gesture has stirred curiosity among Americans, leading “Trump oath without Bible” to become a top search query on Google on Monday afternoon.
While this move has sparked debate, Trump is not the first president to take the oath of office without using a Bible.
Photos of past presidents taking the oath with their hand on the Bible have resurfaced online, fueling further comparisons and discussions about the significance of tradition in modern politics.
At least four other U.S. presidents have made similar choices, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. John Quincy Adams, the nation’s sixth president, was sworn in while placing his hand on a law book in 1825.
Theodore Roosevelt also took the oath without a Bible in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley.
Another notable exception occurred in 1963, when President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in aboard Air Force One using a Catholic missal, a prayer book, after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
Trump’s decision stands out as the first in over 100 years to diverge from the tradition of using a religious text.
However, no legal requirement mandates the use of a Bible during the oath of office. Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution specifies the wording of the oath but does not prescribe how it must be performed.
The ceremony also featured Vice President JD Vance, who was sworn in by Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Vance adhered to tradition, placing his hand on a Bible held by his wife, Usha Vance, as one of their children stood by.
While Trump’s gesture has drawn mixed reactions, some see it as a personal choice that reflects his individual approach to tradition, while others argue it diminishes the solemnity of the ceremony.