Formal error in the oath of office
Does that even apply? Trump’s biblical breach of taboo
Is Donald Trump's oath of office even valid? Many Americans are now asking this question, as the 78-year-old has broken with a long tradition. The self-proclaimed "chosen one" did not place his left hand on the Bibles held by his wife Melania when he took the oath.
Right hand raised, left hand on the Holy Scriptures! That's the tradition at a US presidential inauguration. Trump literally left the Bibles on hand. It is not yet known whether this was an intentional breach of protocol. The White House left inquiries about this unanswered.
Many people in the USA are now wondering whether Trump's presidency is now valid. This was initially the most frequent Google search in connection with the "inauguration". This much in advance: the presence of the Bible has no effect on the oath itself. It is taken on the basis of the US Constitution, which does not provide for any religious connection.
A chain of errors to blame?
However, this is a glaring flaw, as Trump's core electorate consists of arch-conservative Christians. A breach of taboo of biblical proportions, so to speak. Some even see the "anti-Christ" coming. Chief Justice John Roberts, who swore in Trump, is being blamed in particular. He started the process without waiting for his wife Melania. She only rushed over when Trump was already about to take his oath.
The 78-year-old had actually wanted to place his hand on two Bibles at once, as his team announced in advance. By choosing the Lincoln Bible, he wanted to pay tribute to the first Republican US president, Abraham Lincoln. The abolitionist had used the document when he was sworn in in 1861 because he had forgotten his family Bible at home. His mother had given him the second one.
The politician, who is not exactly considered to be Bible-bound, wanted to emphasize his historical connection to perhaps the greatest US president in history as well as a personal connection to his family with the double election. This backfired badly.
Trump mentioned God in his speech
After his gaffe, the 78-year-old ironically emphasized that he felt "chosen". God had allowed him to survive the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The Bible is said to be his favorite book, as the world learned when he was promoting his "USA Bible" in October last year.
As the US media found out shortly afterwards, he had the Bible, which cost around 60 dollars to sell, printed in China for just under three dollars a copy.
Breaking with a long tradition
With his disregard for Bibles, Trump is breaking with a long US tradition. At his first inauguration, George Washington used the altar Bible of a nearby Masonic lodge and kissed it after taking the oath. Almost everyone followed his example in some form or another.
On the rare occasions when a Bible was not used, presidents placed their hand on something symbolizing a higher power. John Quincy Adams, the sixth Commander-in-Chief, placed his hand on a law book. Lyndon B. Johnson used a Catholic prayer book found on board Air Force One after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Trump now decided to simply leave his left hand dangling ...
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,
die Kommentarfunktion steht Ihnen ab 6 Uhr wieder wie gewohnt zur Verfügung.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
das krone.at-Team
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.