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Roy Moore spokesman left speechless after learning politicians don’t have to swear on Bible

Ted Crockett was silent for so long the interviewer drew things to a close.

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(CNN/Twitter)

A politician’s spokesman was left dumbstruck when he learned elected officials in the US do not have to swear in by using the Bible.

Ted Crockett appeared on Jake Tapper’s CNN show in advance of an election in the US state of Alabama which had been marred by controversy.

Crockett was trying to explain the position of Republican candidate Roy Moore on Muslim people holding office in the US. He reiterated Moore’s stance that they would struggle “ethically” with the swearing in on a Bible.

But Tapper interjected to set him straight.

“You don’t actually have to swear on a Christian Bible,” he said. “You can swear on anything really. I don’t know if you knew that. You can swear on a Jewish Bible. The law is not that you have to swear on a Christian Bible, that is not the law.”

Crockett, who reasoned he used a Bible when elected, went silent for so long Tapper started to wrap up the interview.

He eventually found his voice, explaining that President Donald Trump had used a Bible for his inauguration.

Again, Tapper was on hand to school him that Trump’s Bible was a choice.

Clips of the interview – and Crockett’s bewildered look – have been shared across social media, along with reaction and a clamber for the segment to be used as a meme.

CNN called it “an absolutely insane exchange”, while one person called Crockett “5000% stupid”.

Not even the president is required to use a Bible or religious text to swear in.

During the campaign, Crockett’s candidate Moore, a former state Supreme Court chief justice was buffeted by allegations of sexual misconduct.

He faced allegations from multiple women who said the 70-year-old molested and sexually pursued them decades ago when they were in their teens and Moore was in his 30s.

The Senate seat was taken by Democrat Doug Jones, a 63-year-old former US attorney.

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