For the second time, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day Monday in Washington, D.C., by raising his right hand and putting his left hand on top of a Bible. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Why do presidents place a hand on the Bible? The answer is simple: tradition. That’s what the first President of the United States, George Washington, did in 1789, according to the White House Historical Association.