| USA TODAY
Inauguration day: Kamala Harris takes the oath of office
Kamala Harris made history when she took the oath of office.
Associated Press, USA TODAY
The claim: Vice President Kamala Harris did not place her hand on the Bible while she was sworn in
Following the historic oath of office of Vice President Kamala Harris on January 20, users began spreading on social media allegations that Harris allegedly refused to rest her hand on the Bible while taking the oath.
“She did NOT put her hand on the Bible, as you can clearly see when she was inaugurated while sworn in, a purse / purse is on top of the Bible,” a Facebook user wrote. The report contains a photo of Harris placing her hand on a black object on top of a thick copy of the Bible.
The post has been shared more than 400 times. USA TODAY directed the user for comment.
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Harris used 2 Bibles
Harris used two Bibles on January 20 to swear in, USA TODAY reports. One Bible belonged to the late civil rights icon and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who helped inspire her career. The second Bible was from family friend Regina Shelton, whom Harris called a ‘second mother’ to her and her sister.
“Mrs. Shelton would bring her Bible to church every Sunday. I sit next to her and become acquainted with the teachings of the Bible,” Harris wrote in a 2019 Bustle article.
A photo of Getty Image of Harris’s swear, captured in another corner, shows that the black object on which Harris rested her hand is a copy of the Bible.
Harris’ faith has been scrutinized, while social media users have made similar allegations that Harris had previously refused to use a Bible to swear. Harris identifies her as a Baptist and she uses a Bible to be sworn in as a U.S. senator in 2017, USA. TODAY reported.
In December, social media users spread false allegations that Harris had said Christmas should not be a federal holiday. Some users also claim to call churches “propaganda centers”, according to the USA TODAY.
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In the growing up years of a Christian father and a Hindu mother, Harris attended services in a Black Baptist church and a Hindu temple. Harris celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah with her husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish today, reports USA.
Our rating: false
The allegation that Vice President Kamala Harris placed her hand on a purse or a purse instead of a Bible during her swearing-in is FALSE, based on our research. She used two Bibles on Inauguration Day.
Our fact-checking sources:
- USA TODAY, January 20, “Vice President Kamala Harris enters history as the first woman of color to hold office”
- Bustle, February 4, 2019, “Without this woman I would not be the leader I am today”
- Getty Images, January 20, photo
- USA TODAY, August 15, 2020, “Fact Study: Kamala Harris Sworn in the Bible, Identified as Baptist”
- USA TODAY, December 15, 2020, “Fact Check: False Anti-Christmas Quote Attributed to Kamala Harris Begins as Satire”
- USA TODAY, October 15, 2020, “Fact Check: Kamala Harris Never Called Churches ‘Propaganda Centers'”
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