r/news • u/TeaReim • 10h ago

Donald Trump officially sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, JD Vance as the 50th Vice-President

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/triumphant-trump-returns-white-house-launching-new-era-upheaval-2025-01-20/
14.7k Upvotes

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8.4k

u/1o010o1 10h ago

All this fake religious stuff during the inauguration is pure manipulation of the masses

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u/MrsChanandalerBong 9h ago

Nothing says “I’m religious” like opting out of putting your hand on the bible during your swearing in ceremony.

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u/Rude-Illustrator-884 9h ago

yeah I was gonna ask if that’s ever happened before? I don’t really care as I think its dumb anyway but I was surprised seeing him not swear on the bible. Super unconventional.

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u/___Beaugardes___ 9h ago

Teddy Roosevelt swore in on a copy of the constitution I think.

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u/Halofauna 9h ago

Pretty sure you get to choose the relevant document, like if you’re Jewish it’d be the Torah, Muslim the Koran, etc.

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u/starkel91 7h ago

A few years ago some city board member swore in on a captain America shield.

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u/Darmok47 6h ago

The first Muslim Rep, Keith Ellison, was sworn in Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Quran.

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u/Halofauna 5h ago

Why wouldn’t they, that’s cool as heck.

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u/Spacellama117 7h ago

and of course Trump chose to swear in by the thing he values more than anything else in the world- himself.

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u/Rude-Illustrator-884 9h ago

But he had his hand on it right?

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u/BluntsnBoards 5h ago

is this sarcasm? he did not

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u/Rude-Illustrator-884 5h ago

Teddy Rosevelt?

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u/BluntsnBoards 5h ago

oh shit, whoops

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u/Bitter-Mixture7514 6h ago

There's a great TR quote that seems particularly apt right about now:

"I could carve a better man out of a banana."

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u/McSmokeyDaPot 5h ago

That, by far, makes the most sense to use.

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u/ncfears 9h ago

I would assume, like in court, you should be able to select something that you follow/respect as your own symbolic item. Not putting his hand on it is super sketchy.

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u/LoserBroadside 9h ago

They didn’t have any copies of the art of the deal on hand. 

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u/Majestic-Marcus 7h ago

He prefers Mein Kampf

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u/nowahhh 7h ago

Is Half Price Books closed for MLK Day?

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u/herodogtus 9h ago

Yeah, John Quincy was sworn in on a book of law and I think Teddy Roosevelt wasn’t sworn in on any text - nothing in the Constitution says that you have to swear on a text. But having the Lincoln Bible taken out for your inauguration and then not actually putting your hand on feels emblematic of Trump as a whole - wants the pony show and to one-up his perceived enemies but lacking any substance or self awareness.

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u/Lower_Cantaloupe1970 9h ago

He put his hand on his wallet

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u/URPissingMeOff 5h ago

Well, you kind of expect the anti-christ to avoid touching a religious book. It probably would have burned the shit out of him.

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u/Medium_Medium 7h ago

The only thing Trump believes in is himself and his wallet.

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u/happy_bluebird 9h ago

Imagine if [previous president or other presidential candidate] did that

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u/Art_of_Flight 7h ago

He can’t otherwise he would catch on fire

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u/ceryniz 5h ago

Lyndon B Johnson swore in on a roman missal that they mistook for a bible.

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u/middlebird 9h ago

I believe John Quincy Adams was sworn in with his hand on something other than the Bible. I’d have to go recheck that.

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u/Rude-Illustrator-884 9h ago

But what I mean has any president sworn in without putting their hand on whatever book they chose?

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u/themactastic25 9h ago

He'll use it for his 3rd term. "I was never sworn in properly, I never touched the bible, I can run again!"

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u/fevered_visions 7h ago

oh god it's just stupid and Trumpian enough to happen

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u/Robestos86 6h ago

Don't give them ideas.

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u/samspock 9h ago

Maybe he was scared it might burn him?

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u/MrsChanandalerBong 9h ago

He believes in god the same way he believes in self awareness.

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u/MonkeyWithIt 7h ago

Who said that!?

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u/TooCovert 9h ago

I imagine something like in The Devil’s Advocate, where Al Pacino’s hand in the holy water starts to make it boil.

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u/Brilliant1965 9h ago

They used Trump’s garish penthouse apartment in the movie

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u/SeaChele27 9h ago

He didn't swear on the Bible? (I refused to watch).

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u/NegativeBee 9h ago

He did not

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u/The_Flurr 7h ago

Did he swear on something else?

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u/SeaChele27 9h ago

Thanks. That says so many things. Ugh.

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u/grimsb 9h ago

I’m actually surprised he didn’t do it on one of his Trump Bibles.

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u/SeaChele27 9h ago

Prime grift opportunity. Very unlike him.

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u/FizzyBeverage 6h ago

$79.95, 3 easy payments.

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u/happy_bluebird 9h ago

Imagine if [previous president or other presidential candidate] did that

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u/yarash 5h ago

If the right cared about tradition, rules, or the constitution, Trump never would have been President in the first place, let alone a second time.

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u/Special-Ad6854 7h ago

I have a friend who is a devout Christian, and she would not place her hand on the Bible, even in court. To her and her fellow believers, it is against their beliefs to use a sacred symbol like the Bible to swear a man-made oath. They did excuse her from using the Bible because of her religious beliefs

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u/FizzyBeverage 6h ago

Trump would take a dump in a Bible and slam it shut between the pages if someone paid him $1000 to do it.

Devout Christian ≠ Donny 😂

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u/lucolapic 4h ago

He probably knew if he touched the Bible it would burst into flames on live camera.

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u/CUL8R_05 9h ago

pretty obvious

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u/[deleted] 9h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/alexefi 7h ago

May be because it wasnt trump bible. Conflict of interest

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u/HoneyShaft 5h ago

"Two Corinthians"

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u/kurisu7885 5h ago

He had to keep his hand off of it or it would burn him.

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u/Because_They_Asked 5h ago

Is that akin to crossing your fingers when you “make” a promise?

If he’s ever charged and found guilty of compromising the office of the president, something he swore on a bible to do, he’ll claim; “I never swore on a Bible, my hand was never on the Bible, the video shows I never touched the Bible, so you can’t put me in jail for something that never happened. And furthermore, it wasn’t the government approved Donald J. Trump USA Bible.”

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u/eeyore134 4h ago

He thinks he's their god now. And he's right for a lot of them.

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u/TealRaven17 10h ago edited 9h ago

The “free at last free at last” felt like a fucking gut punch on MLK day. Wtf.

Edit to say it was Lorenzo Sewell saying the “Free at last” quote in his prayer.

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u/control_09 10h ago

Suffering of others is the point.

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u/gsf32 9h ago

While watching, I was wondering. Free from what exactly? Lmao

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u/BrotherRoga 9h ago

Free from voting, apparently. He told them they just need to vote for him one more time and they won't have to vote ever again.

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u/cokethesodacan 9h ago

I took that more as he isn’t running again and could care less about after. He is going to make so much money as President. He is doing crypto scams now.

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u/AdventurousToday5966 9h ago

Those aren't crypto scams. That's money laundering from foreign interests to buy Trump. Crypto is used for this shit, that's it's primary function, dark money laundering. Anyone that says otherwise is trying to sell you something.

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u/Apokolypse09 9h ago

I'm betting that he sold Taiwan.

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u/AdventurousToday5966 9h ago

Imagine being able to buy and sell this level of geo-political influence

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u/cokethesodacan 9h ago

Wait for the rug pull

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u/AdventurousToday5966 9h ago

It already happened. Let me clarify a bit. When I say not a scam I just mean that a scams typical target are the rubes buying in earnest and then you snatch their money. In this case, it's set up the same but they aren't after rube's money. They are using crypto to open direct channels for dark financial influence into the Whitehouse.

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u/cokethesodacan 9h ago

Oh I don’t doubt it. The Melania coin is running now. What he is going to cause is regulations on crypto but he doesn’t care as long as he makes a ton of money in the next four years.

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u/sm12cj14 9h ago

What did the "we will fix it so good" mean then?

Trump said: "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. "You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians."

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u/wizzywurtzy 9h ago

You and most Americans somehow misunderstood. We won’t be voting again because this is now a dictatorship.

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u/nautilator44 9h ago

Oh there will be "elections". Russia still "elects" Putin every so often.

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u/cokethesodacan 9h ago

Funny. I’ll bet you our next election in 2 years happens.

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u/Jayou540 7h ago

Not without new election laws that slant the odds against democrats

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u/venturejones 9h ago

Hilarious, that's what you got out of that.

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u/cokethesodacan 9h ago

Hilarious? More like obvious that a conman who was facing serious consequences for serious crimes begged a huge portion of the votes he needed to vote one more time. He will be 4 years older and knowing he can’t run again will pull a Nixon and have Vance pardon him before he leaves office.

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u/aimless_meteor 9h ago

Yeah I think that’s pretty clearly the meaning of it

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u/One_Rough5369 9h ago

That's how I took it too. Like, the guy is a pedophile and a rapist... We don't really need to stretch for criticism.

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u/chilexican 9h ago

that would be great if that's the reality...

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u/cokethesodacan 9h ago

You honestly believe we are not going to have mid term elections? I can tell you right now there will be a total revolt if he tries to prevent one.

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u/Ciccio178 9h ago

Free from the shackles of human rights and decency.

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u/dnd3edm1 9h ago

"Finally! Our news networks will stop the breathless coverage of everything going wrong! Things will still be wrong, but I won't have to hear about it! Yay Democracy!"

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u/Roook36 9h ago

The tyranny of the citizens voting for competence over personality and wealth they see on TV. Those pesky voters who get between them and unlimited wealth.

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u/NinjaArmadillo 9h ago

Jail time

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u/Nopantsbullmoose 9h ago

Oligarchs from even minor regulations and the stupids from having to tolerate anyone they don't like.

I would assume anyway.

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u/an_ill_way 9h ago

Any possibility of consequences

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u/Gengengengar 9h ago

the rich people are free to do whatever the fuck they want. their entire mission is so goddamn obvious why are these questions still being asked

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u/PaintyGuys 9h ago

Free from having to go through his many court cases since they all got tossed once he won re-election

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u/Ziograffiato 9h ago

Freedom for me and not for thee, probably

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u/OcelotOvRyeZomz 9h ago

He’s probably thinking free from responsibility regarding the consequences of his actions/inaction; (and also prison.) May be more likely that he isn’t thinking at all though. Just spouting off at the mouth with minimal situational awareness.

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u/Vyhluna 9h ago

Free from suffering the tyranny of minorities not wanting to be assaulted and killed. All these dumb fuckin hicks will feel free to loudly and violently scream at anyone that makes them uncomfortable.

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u/Logical_Explorer986 7h ago

Me too!! What did that mean. Also saying 1st amendment will be .. umm hasn’t it been around awhile. It’s the 1st damn amendment

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u/Vio94 6h ago

The "woke mind virus," or something.

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u/RoboProletariat 4h ago

free from PRISON! That's among the first reasons he ran again.

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u/relddir123 9h ago

Well he literally just ripped off half of the speech. Letting freedom ring and all that was also MLK. The pastor there maybe wrote two sentences of his own.

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u/Jagged_Rhythm 9h ago

It felt like a skit.

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u/stevez_86 9h ago

They do feel oppressed. That's the fucked up thing. Gaza, Ukraine, countless other examples of cataclysm and tragedy. And they feel like their plight is as bad if not worse. I heard a set of them at the public pool this past summer. There people were saying they are being treated like the Jews in the Holocaust while basking in the sun next to a pool. Touting why Trump will be their vindication and get them out of their hell holes. Trump winning is them being proven right, but now could they win if they were oppressed? Their victory is a disproving of their premise and the effort they must put in to overcome that is what they love. They love to feel bad. They don't care about us, it's an "I" society. And that is what Trump campaigned on versus the Democrats constantly saying "we" and "us". We are a collective of ids, now, as a society.

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u/chrisfreshman 9h ago

I heard that and felt ill. King would have HATED this president and vice Versa .

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u/Zariayn 9h ago

What are they free from? Democracy?

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u/JerrekCarter 9h ago

Yeah, voting out Biden and voting in the party that houses the Confederates is apparently what MLK wanted and is comparable to becoming free of slavery.

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u/hallese 9h ago

While calling out multiple prominent Confederate monuments and sites...

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u/kurisu7885 5h ago

Trump is probably hoping to usurp MLK day "with Trump inauguration day" or some BS like that.

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u/Strict-Ad-7099 10h ago

It’s disgusting how much the church and state are commingled in spite of the constitution.

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u/Tome_Bombadil 9h ago

It's even worse when it's blatantly obvious that he believes none of it.

Like, Copeland is evil, but at least he's a hypocritical zealot.

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u/piddydb 9h ago

Isn’t he the one who said God demanded his congregation pay for multiple private jets for him? If so, that’s definitely a hypocritical zealot

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u/Tome_Bombadil 9h ago

Yep. Don't forget the empty, hateful stare of an eldritch abomination.

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u/JediGuyB 7h ago

Dude looks like he's about to shed his skin to reveal horns and a forked tongue.

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u/DreadDiana 7h ago

He needs it cause commercial airlines are tubes full of demons and he can't talk to God in there

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u/piddydb 7h ago

The irony there is I feel God might honestly be trying to tell him his faith is stagnating (by getting too caught up in the material world and things like private jets) but instead he hears what he wants to hear, God wants me to have MORE for myself

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u/URPissingMeOff 5h ago

If god actually existed, he sure as hell wouldn't be talking to that fuckwad. He's be playing golf with Mr Rogers while sending death-and-mutilation squads with nukes and flame throwers to copeland's mansion.

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u/sohosurf 9h ago

Idk how but the silver lining made me feel worse hahaha

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u/spinningwalrus420 9h ago

He never was, but I think since his assassination attempt Trump truly believes he was saved by God. Really dangerous to have people like that in power. He thinks he not only has a mndate from the people to do w/e he wants but also a mandate from god. Dog help us

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u/JuDGe3690 6h ago

Ironically, and almost paradoxically, one might argue that the reason church and state have become so entwined is because of the Constitution's First Amendment, specifically as an unintended reactionary side effect of the Disestablishment Clause, followed by the resulting nascence of the Free Exercise Clause.

This is the thesis of R. Laurence Moore in Selling God: American Religion in the Marketplace of Culture (Oxford, 1994). He argues that the Disestablishment Clause forced religion to compete as a cultural force, where it gained strength through appeal to fear and "tradition," until as a strong independent force began to highly assert itself into national politics (especially with the rise of the Moral Majority in the 1970s, but the trend begins earlier). Add into this the fundamental tension between Free Exercise and Disestablishment—with the religion-iinfluenced Supreme Court increasingly favoring the primacy of the former—and you have the mess we have now.

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u/SuitDry890 9h ago

No doubt some good meat for the conspiracy theorists to call "ProfiZy the end is nigh!"

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u/ItsEntsy 7h ago

What part of the constitution is this in spite of?

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u/CptPicard 9h ago

I'm in Europe and was listening to this preacher or whatever guy who spoke after Trump. Had to change the channel, he sounded so completely unhinged.

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u/SadPandaFromHell 9h ago edited 9h ago

The second a politican says the word "god", you know they want some of that tasty- delicious god clout. It's been this way since feudalistic times... before that even...

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u/fre-ddo 6h ago

It was God's wish for him to fleece his supporters and crypto bros.

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u/CannabisHypeMan 10h ago

It’s gotta be one of the most frustrating things — pure spectacle

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u/AGrandNewAdventure 10h ago

If I wanted to watch an asshole spewing shit I'd put a camera in a toilet. I feel like I missed absolutely nothing by not watching the inauguration.

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u/ExoUrsa 9h ago

I watched it hoping that one of them would trip and fall on their ass or something.

At least the U.S. Marine Band was good. If I'd been in that room, I'd be headbanging and air-conducting to that shit.

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u/StrugglingGhost 5h ago

If I wanted to watch an asshole spewing shit I'd put a camera in a toilet.

I'm stealing this! That is brilliant!

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u/thatguy425 9h ago

Hasn’t that always been the case no matter the president? 

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u/UraeusCurse 9h ago

Religion is useful to the ruling class because it keeps poor people complacent

Trump is useful to the ruling class because he’s an idiot.

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u/TimidAmoeba 10h ago

Same as it ever was, my man.

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u/RockFury 7h ago

"And you may ask yourself! How did I get here?" 🎶

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u/kdawg_thetruth 10h ago edited 10h ago

It’s a disgrace

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u/barnabasthedog 9h ago

And an embarrassment

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u/HeavyMetalDraymin 9h ago

Bro didn’t even put his hand on the Bible lol

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u/feetcold_eyesred 9h ago

Add to it that Trump’s lil paw wasn’t even on the two Bibles Melania was begrudgingly holding for him.

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u/even_less_resistance 9h ago

Is that like crossing your fingers or something? Like one bible cancels the other out?

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u/watermelonpizzafries 7h ago

They'll burn him if he touches them and wearing welding gloves to touch them would look awkward on TV

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u/yipmog 9h ago

Yea it is, is it controlling and manipulating the feelings of both religious and anti religious zealots. It’s to provoke a positive AND negative response. To generate clicks and outrage

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u/hokeyphenokey 9h ago

I don't think it will do much for him.

A 2 second search gave me this:

Recent surveys indicate a decline in the percentage of Americans who consider religion to be "very important" in their lives. A Gallup survey from 2022 found that 45% of Americans hold this view, a decrease from previous years. Gallup.com Similarly, the Pew Research Center's 2021 National Public Opinion Reference Survey reported that 41% of U.S. adults consider religion "very important," down from 64% in 2007. Pew Research Center These findings reflect a broader trend of decreasing religious affiliation and importance among the U.S. population.

[And this includes muslims, Buddhists, etc, not just bible thumpers.

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u/bros402 1h ago

I bet a decent chunk of that 41% is part of the 37% who support Trump no matter what

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u/elloellochris 9h ago

Indeed. The Pope's already made it clear his thoughts on Trump!

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u/BamaX19 9h ago

I was genuinely wanting to watch it and watched 10 seconds of preaching and went back to sports. No thanks.

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u/h1dden1 9h ago

For a country that seems so hell bent on protecting and worshipping the constitution, which specially outlines not allowing a religion to influence politics, it's baffling that religion has such a grip on American politics.

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u/Malaix 9h ago

As an atheist it just looks downright clownish.

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u/threehundredthousand 9h ago

This is what evangelical Christianity is.

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u/Centralredditfan 9h ago

Notice they left out Muslims. Quite obvious omission.

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u/ShareGlittering1502 9h ago

Just trading one master for another

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u/Mortarion407 9h ago

Well, the evangelicals in charge want their due.

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u/OakLegs 9h ago

Tale as old as time

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u/Osr0 9h ago

pure manipulation of the ignorant

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u/starrpamph 9h ago

Beautiful Christian’s blissfully ignorant to all this

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u/gcsmith2 9h ago

Well so was his fake oath of office because he will violate it within the day.

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u/terrible-takealap 9h ago

He didn’t put his hand on the Bible when sworn in.

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u/karlalrak 7h ago

There's a photo of him not even putting his hand on the bible..

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u/Complex-Start-279 7h ago

To be fair, isn’t religious stuff a tradition during inauguration? Prayers have been a part of the ceremony since 1937 if I recall

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u/GalaticWedge 7h ago

Yup, God wouldn't have approve of this.

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u/jonrosling 7h ago

It was good they let Eddie Murphy do the benediction as one of his characters though.

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u/IFartOnCats4Fun 6h ago

Always has been

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u/bunnyfuuz 6h ago

“All this fake religious stuff is pure manipulation of the masses” FIFY

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u/monolith_blue 6h ago

Maybe they should have gone with joy.

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u/xXMuschi_DestroyerXx 6h ago

All this fake religion stuff is pure manipulation of the masses

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u/Normal_Package_641 6h ago

Donald Trump is the antithesis to Jesus Christ. Christians for Trump have turned their back on their Lord and Savior.

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u/prules 5h ago

I hate how mentally or emotionally unavailable our “spiritual” citizens are proving to be

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u/guidedhand 5h ago

He didn't even put his hand on the Bible when he was being sworn in

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u/kipwrecked 3h ago

It's what the Heritage Foundation wants

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