Harris swore on two Bibles during 2021 inauguration, not a purse

Context

An image shared online claims that Kamala Harris used her purse to swear in during her inauguration as vice president in 2021. The image shows Harris holding her right hand up, with her left hand placed upon a black, zipped object, with a large book beneath. 

The photograph was posted to Instagram on November 5, with text that reads, "Kamala Harris is so against touching the Bible that she put her purse on top of the Bible and put her hand on that instead. Choose wisely."

One user wrote in the comments, "I'm not voting for someone like her." Another said, "It's what happens when you are the Antichrist."

However, Kamala Harris did not avoid touching the Bible when being sworn in as vice president during the 2021 inauguration.

In fact 

A reverse image search shows that this image is from the January 20, 2021, inauguration, when Harris was sworn in as vice president. 

The moment Harris was sworn into office was published by the non-profit American network C-SPAN (timestamp 00:20), where she stood alongside her husband, Doug Emhoff. However, what she rests her hand upon is not visible in this clip. 

The angle used in the Instagram post shows that the upper object is zipped. 

However, other photographs taken during her swearing the oath of office, captured from different angles and published by the photograph licensing company Alamy, show the words "Holy Bible" printed across the spine of the black book. 

Another photograph taken that day shows Emhoff holding both books while embracing Harris. The black book has "Holy Bible" printed across the front, and a silver chain tipped with a cross protrudes from one of the pages. 

CNN reported in 2021 that one of the two Bibles Harris used during the inauguration belonged to former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and the other to Harris' former neighbor. 

Harris previously took an oath on the brown Bible during the 2017 senators' swearing-in ceremony, which was held by then-Vice President Joe Biden (timestamp 1:28:13).

The verdict

Vice President Kamala Harris did not avoid swearing her oath of office on a Bible during the 2021 inauguration. Other angles show that the black object she placed her hand upon was a Bible, not a purse. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

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