Donald Trump Called Out for 'Not Placing His Hand on The Bible' While Being Sworn Into Office on Inauguration Day — As Judge Roberts is Accused of 'Rushing' The Oath
Jan. 20 2025, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
President Trump's second term began instantly with controversy, after he apparently failed to place his hand on the Bible for his swearing-in ceremony.
It has been a long-standing tradition that incoming presidents place their hand on a Bible and repeat their oath of office, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Trump and wife Melania celebrated their second inauguration.
The tradition dates back to the very first president, George Washington, who took the oath of office in 1789 with an altar Bible borrowed from a mason's lodge in New York. Washington even kissed the Bible afterward.
Trump was expected to place his hands on the same two Bible's he used the first time around in 2017 – one utilized by Abraham Lincoln in 1861; and a personal Bible gifted to him by his mother in 1955.
But as his wife, Melania, approached with the books in her hand, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts began administering the oath, and Trump's left arm remained at his side.
Trump has already started his second term with controversy.
The moment was instantly noticed by viewers, who flooded social media to point it out.
One person tweeted: "President Donald Trump did NOT put his hand on the Bible while being sworn in, s***s about to get very unholy."
Another person echoed: "Am I missing something or did Trump just get sworn in without his hand on the Bible? Hmmmm."
A third declared: "Trump didn't put his hand on the bible. Fake President. Doesn't count."
Trump laid out his pan for the next four years in his inauguration speech.
However, there may have been an honest reason for the limp arm. Others online noted that Roberts seemed to rush through the oath, not giving Melania a chance to present her husband with the Bibles.
Elsewhere on X, one person slammed: "Chief Justice Roberts rushing the oath before Melania got to President Trump without his hand on the Bible is absolutely disgraceful. Shame on Roberts."
Another person added: "No offense but the guy who swore Trump In didn’t even give his family the chance to walk in and didn’t tell Trump to put his hand on the Bible. He just started swearing him in before Melanie could walk over. Totally rushed."
While a third noted: "Melania was late walking up to Trump with the bible. As a result, Trump did not remember to put his hand over the bible during the swearing in. I have looked back at decades of US presidential inaugurations and can't find another example of this."
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In fact, it has happened several times with different presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt who did not use anything when he was sworn into office in 1901, and John Quincy Adams, who chose a legal book for his 1825 swearing-in, to signify his responsibility to uphold the U.S. constitutional law.
And it's not the first time Roberts has made a mistake delivering the oath. In 2009, the Chief Justice incorrectly recited part of it while swearing in Barack Obama.
Roberts prompted at the time: "That I will execute the Office of President to the United States faithfully," which messes up the order of the words. The actual phrase is: "I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States."
Obama stopped at "execute," and waited for Roberts to correct himself. Roberts, after a false start, then incorrectly followed Obama's "execute" with "faithfully," which resulted in "execute faithfully".
The mistake requited the oath to be re-administered the next day by Roberts at the White House.
