Trump did not put his hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office

A curious incident occurred during the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. During the oath of office, the new head of the United States of America did not put his hand on the Bible, which is not a mandatory but traditionally accepted gesture. This was reported by Hromadske.

It is reported that before the oath of office, First Lady Melania Trump handed her husband two Bibles — one given to Trump by his mother when he was a child and the other used by the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, during his inauguration. However, the president did not place his left hand on them, as is customary and as he did in 2017 during his first inauguration. Back then, Trump chose a 19th-century family Bible to take the oath.

At the same time, Vice President J.D. Vance, who took the oath before Trump, put his hand on the Holy Scripture. The book was held by his wife, Usha Vance. She became the first U.S. second lady of Indian descent to practice Hinduism.

Earlier, the co-chair of the National Federation of Young Republicans, Katherine Whiteford, warned the persecutors of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the coming retribution if they do not repent and stop persecuting canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. Whiteford said that thanks to Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, the persecution of Christians, especially the UOC believers, will soon be stopped in the world.