No Blunders for Supreme Court at Trump's Inauguration

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., right, administers the oath of office to President Donald Trump, left, during the 58th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Olivier Douliery/Abaca/Sipa via AP Images)

From the U.S. Supreme Court’s perspective, the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday went smoothly, with no flubbed lines or dropped Bibles.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. slowly led Trump in reciting the oath of office exactly as it is spelled out in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution—except he added “so help you God,” as has been done for decades.

“Congratulations, Mr. President,” Roberts said after the oath as they shook hands. Trump, who was sharply critical of Roberts on the campaign trail, seemed to make a point of giving the chief justice a hearty handshake.

In 2009, Roberts and then-new president Barack Obama stepped on each other’s lines and got some of the words of the oath out of order, prompting a do-over the following day.

Trump’s wife Melania held a family Bible and the so-called Lincoln Bible during the oath. That is a task that used to be assigned to the clerk of the Supreme Court, but ended in 1968 when Lady Bird Johnson held the Bible for her husband. In 1941, the clerk of the court made headlines by dropping Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Bible.

Just moments before the presidential oath Friday, Justice Clarence Thomas swore in Vice President Mike Pence, also without a hitch.

It may also have been a relief for the eight justices in attendance that Trump’s inaugural address made no mention of the court, even as he heaped blame for America’s shortcomings on past presidents and politicians.

Before the ceremony, as the robed justices emerged from the Capitol to take their places on the inaugural stage, Justice Stephen Breyer was the only member of the court wearing the traditional black skullcap. Later, as it began to rain, Justice Anthony Kennedy also donned a similar cap.

For decades, that has been the justices’ favored winter headgear for public events, though the number of justices donning the caps has varied from inauguration to the next. The high point was 1961, when seven of the nine justices wore skullcaps.

The only other sartorial feature that drew attention on Twitter Friday was the neckwear that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wore to the inaugural ceremony. To some, it appeared to be the same jabot that she wears when she prepares to announce a dissent from the bench. But others concluded instead that it was a different jabot altogether.