By Steve Padilla, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Eagle-eyed watchers of President Trump’s inauguration noticed that he kept his left hand at his side and did not place it on the Bible held by First Lady Melania Trump as he took the oath of office.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: U.S. President Donald Trump takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts as Barron Trump and Melania Trump look on during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States. (Photo by Morry Gash – Pool/Getty Images)
Did it matter?
Constitutionally speaking, no. Though swearing upon a Bible is a tradition, the Constitution does not require it. In fact, some presidents have taken the oath of office without a Bible. Two such occasions followed the deaths of presidents.
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When Warren G. Harding, the 29th president, died of an illness in San Francisco on Aug. 2, 1923, Vice President Calvin Coolidge was on vacation in Vermont. What happened next in the family farmhouse is described by “The Smithsonian Book of Presidential Trivia”: “Coolidge’s father, a notary public, administered the oath of office to his son by the light of a kerosene lamp.” There was a family Bible available but it was not used.
Coolidge was later sworn in by the chief justice of the Supreme Court in Washington after concerns were raised about the jurisdiction of Coolidge’s father.
President Lyndon B. Johnson did not use a Bible when he was hastily sworn into office after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963. Johnson placed his hand on a church missal, which was found on Air Force One, where the swearing-in was held. According to the Smithsonian book, Johnson was sworn in by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah T. Hughes. It was the only time a president had been sworn in by a woman.
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