President Obama has begun his second term with a brief, official swearing-in in the Blue Room of the White House. At 11:55amET Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath with First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters by his side. Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos anchored on ABC, Scott Pelley on CBS and Lester Holt on NBC. The last time the official Oath of Office fell on a Sunday was in 1985, at the start of Pres. Reagan’s second term.
NBC’s report lasted 7 minutes from 11:53am to Noon. ABC’s went 9 minutes from 11:52 to 12:01 and CBS’s went the longest at 12 minutes, from 11:53 – 12:05pm.
The cable networks also carried the event. On Fox News, Megyn Kelly anchoring with Bret Baier and Chris Wallace, said “I owe Wallace a quarter.” She’d bet the “Fox News Sunday” host that Chief Justice Roberts wouldn’t use notes for the Oath. He did. “He messed it up the first time,” said Wallace of Roberts. Chuck Todd on MSNBC and Wolf Blitzer on CNN and their guests also remarked on Roberts using notes after botching the Oath in 2009.