CALGARY — US President Donald Trump has been blasted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson for not placing his hand on the Bible during the president’s January 2025 inauguration ceremony.During the swearing-in ceremony, Trump took the oath of office without touching a Bible, while his wife, Melania, stood beside him holding one.The move marked a departure from past inaugurations, including Trump’s first one in 2017, when he used two Bibles..While incoming presidents placing their hands on the holy book is a longstanding tradition, it is not legally required.Speaking on his podcast on Tuesday, Carlson — who said he was present at the inauguration — described the moment as odd and questioned why it did not generate broader public scrutiny, in particular from Christian institutions.“That should have been maybe a clue that we need to pause and think about what this is,” Carlson said..“Why wouldn't you put your hand on the Bible? If you don't believe in the Bible, you think it's just a book, there's no cost to you in putting your hand on it, just kind of following the protocol, going along with the tradition. All presidents do it. Why aren't you doing it?”Carlson added that the moment suggested Trump’s decision was intentional and symbolically significant.“You're choosing not to put your hand on the Bible when you take that oath; that suggests not that you don't believe it's real, because if you didn't believe it was real, why would you care?” Carlson said.“That suggests you know it is real and you're rejecting it intentionally.”The former Fox News host went on to say that the president’s actions were also a possible rejection of the moral framework outlined in scripture, particularly its emphasis on limits to human authority and power.“Maybe [Trump] didn't put his hand on the Bible because he affirmatively rejects what's inside that book, and what's inside that book are limits on human behaviour,” Carlson said, adding that if there was “one theme” throughout all books contained within the Christian Bible, it is that “you are not God, and you cannot assume His powers because you don't have them.”“You may convince yourself you have them. You may want them,” Carlson stated.“But in the end, they're not yours, and you'll never have them.”.The criticism comes after Trump posted a profanity-laced message on Easter Sunday referencing Iran, which Carlson described as “a mockery of Christianity” and pushed back on the conflict.“We’ve intentionally bombed civilian infrastructure; that’s totally unacceptable,” Carlson stated on the Monday episode of his podcast.“Not under the phony laws of some international body, but under moral law, God’s law. Killing noncombatants who did nothing wrong, who are people created by God, is immoral.”
