“I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear 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, so help me God”
— Donald Trump, January 20, 2025
Remember the expression “swear on a stack of Bibles”? Melania Trump was holding two Bibles when Donald Trump took the oath of office on January 20, 2025. Donald didn’t actually put his hand on the short stack of Bibles.
The Constitution doesn’t require a Bible, of course, because the founders were all about freedom and equality. Well, no, not really. The Constitution mentions “free persons” and “other persons,” so clearly everybody wasn’t free or equal.
The Constitution also doesn’t mention women at all. The word “sex” appears exactly once, in the 19th Amendment, which says “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Which sex? Any sex.
And the Constitution doesn’t say anything about swearing on the Bible, or on a stack of Bibles, or anywhere near a Bible. Or a Koran. Or anything. Furthermore, it doesn’t specify that the president has to say “so help me God,” or “cross my heart and hope to die,” or “til death do us part.”
That last bit is important: The president is not president for life. Why? Because the president is not a king, for starters. Even Supreme Court justices are not explicitly appointed to office for life, but rather, “during good Behaviour.” This means that even Supreme Court justices are not above the law and they can be removed from office for bad behavior.
The president may also be impeached and removed from office, though none have ever been convicted by the Senate. Nixon might have become the first, but he resigned before we could find out. In any event, the founders didn’t think the president — or the country — should have to die to get out of a bad marriage.
A person can be elected president only twice, or only once if that person has served more than two years of someone else’s term. The full term of office is four years. Donald Trump has been elected twice.
In 2019, Donald Trump said, “Article II allows me to do whatever I want.”
Wrong. Presidential powers are limited. Under the Constitution, all government powers are limited. There are all sorts of things that the government can and cannot do. There are checks and balances. And the kicker is the 10th Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
So, gentle reader, let us pray:
Under the Constitution of the United States, which Donald John Trump swore near a stack of Bibles to preserve, protect and defend, he shall not do whatever he wants as President, nor shall he continue to serve as President of the United States beyond the end of his current term of office, which shall be no later than noon on January 20, 2029.
So help him God.
Amen
Blundering Oracle 