As thousands gather at the National Mall on Friday, Donald Trump will raise his right hand and utter 35 words to officially become the next president of the United States.
The constitution requires the presidential oath of office under Article 2, Section 1, stating that “before he enter on the execution of his office,” the president-elect shall affirm this:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Mike Pence will take the vice presidential oath of office. The Constitution doesn’t lay out a specific oath of office for vice presidents, demanding only that they swear to uphold the Constitution. Since 1884, the slightly lengthier oath for vice presidents has read:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Though it’s not a requirement, the chief justice commonly administers the oath of office for presidents, as Chief Justice John Roberts will on Friday. Trump will be sworn in on both his family Bible and the Bible used during Lincoln’s first inauguration.
Pence will take his oath with a Bible used by former President Ronald Reagan with his oath being administered by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Unlike with the president, there is no set tradition for who administers the vice president’s oath.
And while the oaths for both offices typically go off without a hitch, that hasn’t always been the case: President Barack Obama took the oath a second time in 2009, a day after he and Roberts tripped over one another’s words during his inauguration.
Obama’s second oath took place in the White House Map Room before a much smaller crowd.
“Are you ready to take the oath?” Roberts reportedly said.
“I am,” Obama said. “And we’re going to do it very slowly.”
Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner
