Donald Trump raised his right hand while placing his left hand on the Bible Monday afternoon. He then took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

The tradition of swearing the oath of office on a Bible stretches back to George Washington, but not all presidents have observed it.

President Donald Trump faced backlash after critics noted that he did not place his hand on the Bible during his inauguration on Monday, raising questions about the tradition’s significance during the formal ceremony.

During his 2017 inauguration, Trump used both a family Bible and the so-called Lincoln Bible, belonging to America’s 16th president. In 2021, Biden used a family Bible that date

President Trump's family wasn't in place as the oath of office began, including his wife, Melania, who was holding two Bibles.

Some presidents did not use a Bible to take the oath of office, including Theodore Roosevelt, who did not use anything when he was sworn into office in 1901, and John Quincy Adams, who chose a legal book for his 1825 swearing-in, to signify his responsibility to uphold the U.S. constitutional law.

Although it's done so often it seems like rule, is there a requirement to use a Bible during a swearing-in ceremony?

Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, Jan. 20, taking the presidential oath without placing his hand on the Bibles Melania held beside him