The Economist explains

Why presidents take an oath of office

Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama have been sworn in using the same words

By S.M.

AT NOON on January 20th, Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office, administered by John Roberts, the chief justice. With his right hand raised and his left hand atop two bibles, Mr Trump will say “I do solemnly swear”, (though he also has the option to “affirm”, using a book of his choice), “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.” If all goes according to plan, Mr Trump will then become America’s 45th president. He will deliver an inaugural address, bid farewell as Barack Obama and his family take their leave, have lunch in the Capitol building and parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

The words quoted above come from Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the constitution, which requires that an incoming president takes this oath “before he enter on the execution of his office”. Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama have been sworn in under the same formula with each change of administration and every re-election. (Most presidents have tacked on “so help me God” at the end of the oath, though the constitutional provision does not contain this divine appeal.) Other federal officials are required to take an oath as well, though Congress, not the constitution, specifies the words. Oaths of office are not an American invention. Members of parliament in Britain pledge to “be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law”. In Germany, a federal minister promises to “dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the German people...and do justice to all”. In Egypt, the president swears “to the great god Allah” to “protect the republican system...and work for the good of the people.”

The deliberations of America’s founders suggest that the centrepiece of the presidential oath is the pledge to “preserve, protect and defend the constitution”. These words were absent from early drafts (a version from July 1787 included only the “faithfully execute” line, with no reference to the constitution) but became a prominent theme in the eyes of presidents who took the oath. America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson, lowered expectations in his first inaugural address by declaring the presidency a “task...above my talents”; the “constitutional vigour” of the government, he declared, is “the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad”. In 1837, Martin Van Buren said “the principle that will govern me in the high duty to which my country calls me is a strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the constitution”. Nearly a century later, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared America’s “constitutional system...the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced”.

There are signs that Mr Trump’s constitutional commitment may not match those of his predecessors in the White House. During the campaign and the post-election transition, Mr Trump made several statements that seem difficult to square with America’s founding document. In an apparent rejection of settled First-Amendment law—and of a ruling by the late Antonin Scalia, a justice he hails—Mr Trump said that people who burn the American flag should be jailed or lose their citizenship. He also called for looser libel laws to permit newspapers to be sued more easily and advocated the use of torture, long held to violate the Eighth Amendment. Some scholars say that the oath gives presidents a tool to protect the prerogatives of their office from the encroachment of Congress. But others argue the presidential oath was designed to serve as a check on chief executives’ power. David Strauss, a law professor at the University of Chicago, observes that oaths are inherently “limiting, not empowering”.

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