Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers botched his Oath of Office Monday, substituting the word "support" with the word "uphold" in the clause "I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Wisconsin."
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack administered the line correctly, beginning the Oath by telling Evers to "repeat after [her]: I Tony Evers."
"I Tony Evers," Evers replied.
"Swear that I will support the constitution of the United States," Roggensack continued.
"Swear that I will uphold the constitution of the United States," Evers answered.
Wisconsin Statute 19.01 provides that the Oath of Office reads: "I, ...., swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Wisconsin, and will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of .... to the best of my ability. So help me God."
It is unclear whether Evers will have to take the Oath over again, but there is precedent for such a flub at the federal level.
In 2009, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts famously botched President Barack Obama's Oath.
Roberts administered the Oath to Obama at the White House the following night as a precaution, but the President's new administration insisted that Obama still became President at noon on January 20th despite the flub.
Four years later, President Obama himself slightly botched his second Oath of Office, swallowing the word "States" when he said "United States."
The Chief Justice and President did not bother with another re-do, and while it's seemingly obvious that Evers officially became Wisconsin's Governor at noon on Monday despite his flub, he and Chief Justice Roggensack might want to get together for a private do-over just to be safe!