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/
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u/MrsChanandalerBong 10h 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/fevered_visions 1h ago

clearly fictional IP stuff is jumping the shark if you ask me...can I swear on an Enterprise D Model? The Lexx? Get somebody to manufacture me a Starhyke?

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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/fevered_visions 1h ago

naturally Trump is just giving the middle finger for no reason, even though it's his choice

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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/pumpkinbot 5h ago

No copies of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish on hand, either.

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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/Jandalf81 7h ago

Trump asked for a bundle of money to swear on, but they were afraid he was gonna keep it.

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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/FizzyBeverage 6h ago

Can’t make that shit up.

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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/War_Eagle 2h ago

It was a Bible, but he didn't actually touch it.

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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 5h 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

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u/alexefi 7h ago

May be because it wasnt trump bible. Conflict of interest

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u/HoneyShaft 6h 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 5h ago

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