President Donald Trump took just seconds into his second term to spark a new controversy online, as many pointed out that he didn’t put his left hand on the Bible while swearing his oaths.
The move has sparked controversy and conspiracies online as some have said that by not putting his hand on the Bible, his oaths are not true, and he may not uphold them, while others claim it’s a sign that he is lying about his faith.
However, the placement of Trump’s left-hand holds no true meaning on the legitimacy of his oaths. Article II of the US Constitution states that the chief executive of the US must only recite the oath before they can take office.
The Constitution also doesn’t stipulate that the president must place his or her hand on a Bible while taking the oath of office because each president who recites the oath is “bound” by the words themselves, according to Article VI.
On top of that, the same article of the Constitution says that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Several presidents who have been sworn in chose not to use the Bible. John Quincy Adams used a “volume” of US Laws when taking his oath of office, and Theodore Roosevelt was left unable to use a Bible after he was quickly sworn in following the death of William McKinley.
The same happened when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, as Lyndon B. Johnson used a Catholic missal belonging to the former president when he said his oaths on Air Force One.
In a 1929 autobiography, Clavin Coolidge wrote that after Warren G. Harding’s death, he didn’t use a Bible when he was sworn in at his family’s Vermont home.
“The Bible, which had belonged to my mother, lay on the table at my hand. It was not officially used, as it is not the practice in Vermont or Massachusetts to use a Bible in connection with the administration of an oath,” he wrote.
Despite the posts on social media, many have pointed out that Trump’s hand was absent from the Bible because Chief Justice John Roberts began the oaths before Trump’s family, and First Lady Melania Trump, who was holding the Bibles, could get to his side.
During his first inauguration, Trump placed his hand on the Bible.