For all of you watching at home, it first appears that President Obama flubbed the presidential oath of office. Not exactly. Justice Roberts appears to get a little nervous or get ahead of himself and threw the whole thing off.
Watch the video here.
Maybe this was Justice Roberts's way of getting back at Obama for not voting to confirm him as Chief Justice. Don't email me! Just kidding.
More from Reuters below:
It was merely a formality and it's probably a few phrases that both Barack Obama and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts have practiced several times, but the leader of the Supreme Court may have been just a tad nervous when he got one word of the presidential oath of office a little out of order.
Obama smiled slightly when he realized that Roberts, a fellow Harvard Law School graduate, misplaced the word "faithfully" during the oath. but the new president joined in the fun and repeated it the way Roberts initially administered it. (Lest we forget, in the Senate Obama voted against confirming Roberts to the high court. Last week Obama met with him and the other Supreme Court justices during a courtesy call.)
Here is how the oath is supposed to be administered: "I do solemnly swear 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."
And here's how it went:
ROBERTS: I, Barack Hussein Obama…
OBAMA: I, Barack…
ROBERTS: … do solemnly swear…
OBAMA: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear…
ROBERTS: … that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully…
OBAMA: … that I will execute…
ROBERTS: … faithfully the office of president of the United States…
OBAMA: … the office of president of the United States faithfully…
ROBERTS: … and will to the best of my ability…
OBAMA: … and will to the best of my ability…
ROBERTS: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
OBAMA: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help you God?
OBAMA: So help me God.
For any conspiracy theorists worried Obama isn't president because the oath was a little off, the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that the new president assumes office at noon on Jan. 20.