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Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, taking charge as Republicans claim unified control of Washington and setting out to reshape the country’s institutions.
It’s traditional to use a Bible during the presidential oath of office, but it is not required. Only the oath is mandated by the Constitution.
Theodore Roosevelt didn’t use a Bible when he was sworn in following the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. John Quincy Adams used a law text for his 1825 inauguration.
And, sworn in aboard Air Force One after John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson used a Catholic missal.
“Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback, but as you see here today, here I am,” he said.
“I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do in America,” he went on, adding: “In America, the impossible is what we do best.
Country music star Carrie Underwood is performing “America the Beautiful” at today’s inauguration.
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,” Underwood said in a statement shortly after the news broke. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
But Underwood has avoided discussing politics across her career, in 2019 telling The Guardian, “I feel like more people try to pin me places politically. I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. It’s crazy. Everybody tries to sum everything up and put a bow on it, like it’s black and white. And it’s not like that.”
