People are just now realizing important rule Trump didn't follow at inauguration and it could explain a lot

Donald Trump’s second inauguration was a spectacle, however people are just now beginning to notice a key tradition he may have ignored.

What seemed like a typical swearing-in ceremony is now being reexamined online, where sharp-eyed viewers have pointed out a missing detail that past presidents have honored for decades.

While easily overlooked in the moment by some viewers, who were perhaps distracted by Melania Trump’s massive hat, the inauguration ceremony in Washington caused a stir on January 20 as some noticed that the 47th President of the United States seemingly skipped tradition.

Trump did not put his hand on the Bible during the oath, a tradition that dates back to George Washington.

As Trump raised his right hand to 'solemnly swear' to commit to the position and 'serve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States', his left hand strayed away from hovering over the two Bibles his wife held in front of him.

Trump didn't touch the Bibles next to him while making his oath (MORRY GASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump had a family Bible, given to him by his mother, and a Bible used by the 16th President Abraham Lincoln used in his own inauguration in 1861. But apparently, Trump didn't touch either of them, despite doing so in his first inauguration in 2017.

It is tradition for presidents to place their hand on the Bible during the oath of office — a symbolic gesture of accountability and faith. Trump, who made bold promises throughout his campaign, skipped that gesture in 2025, and now, months into his second term, many say he’s once again falling short on those promises, defying expectations of presidential conduct.

It's not clear why Trump decided not to put his hand on the Bible. However, physically touching the Bible is not a mandatory or a legal requirement and Trump is still the POTUS.

Still, it has led to an outpouring of scathing remarks on X about Trump’s inauguration decision.

An X account posted an image from the ceremony alongside the message: “Just a reminder that Trump didn’t put his hand on the Bible when swearing in for a second term.”

One person responded: “It doesn’t matter… not like he abides by it anyway,”

A second X user quipped: “God would strike him dead the second he did such a thing.”

While a third joked: “He knew he would catch on fire if he did.”

A fourth wrote: "For someone who sells his own Bibles, that is suspicious. Makes me wonder if the oath is binding.

However, a University of Texas history professor and presidential scholar revealed there is no practical impact if a president declines to swear on a Bible or historical document.

Trump was sworn in on 20 January of this year (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

Speaking to Reuters at the time of the inauguration, Jeremi Suri said: "There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president has to connect this to God in any way. The oath is to the Constitution.

"I don’t think it has any bearing on him taking the oath."

The academic also added that the Constitution allows any incoming president to either swear or attest, meaning it is 'open to someone who is an atheist'.