After Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on January 20, a viral social media post claiming that Harris deliberately avoided placing her hand on a Bible, has been circulating. The widely shared Facebook post claims Harris “did NOT place her hand on the Bible as you can clearly see when she was inaugurated while being sworn in, a purse/wallet is on top of that Bible.”

This is a false claim. In reality, Harris was sworn in with two Bibles, with her hand placed over both, and she did not have her hand on a purse or wallet. 

As reported by USA Today, Harris, who was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, used a Bible that belonged to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as well as one from Regina Shelton, a friend of Harris’. Marshall was the first black justice in the Supreme Court and Shelton is someone Harris considers a “second mother.”

In the viral post, something that looks like a zipper is visible on the second Bible, which may have been the source of the rumor that Harris placed her hand on a “purse/wallet.” From a different angle, though, it’s obvious that the item on top is a leather-bound Bible.

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