The bishop presiding over Tuesday’s first prayer service called on President Donald Trump to “have mercy” on his constituents, mentioning immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community in particular.
The Episcopal bishop of Washington, the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, gave the sermon as a component of a broader ecumenical event held at Washington National Cathedral following Inauguration Day. As is customary for presidents of both parties, Trump attended the service sitting in the front row with first lady Melania Trump, vice president JD Vance, and second lady Usha Vance.
Looking straight at the president, Budde stated, “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” Democratic, Republican, and independent households all have children that are homosexual, lesbian, or transgender. Others are afraid for their lives.
The great majority of immigrants are not criminals, she continued, even though they might not be citizens or possess the required paperwork. They are decent neighbors and pay taxes. They are devoted followers of our synagogues, mosques, and churches.
Trump leaned over to speak to Vance after Budde concluded her sermon, but Vance shook his head.
Reporters then questioned Trump about the sermon while he and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, were strolling along the White House portico. Did the group enjoy it? he inquired. Do you find it thrilling? He went on to say that they could do a lot better and that he didn’t believe the service was good.
In a post on Truth Social early on Wednesday morning, Trump reacted to the sermon by labeling Budde a “so-called Bishop” and a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”
According to Trump, she entered the political arena with her church in a very ungracious manner. She lacked intelligence and charm, and her tone was cruel.
A request for further response from a Trump administration representative was not answered.
Budde stated that she wanted Tuesday’s sermon to be a plea for national unity in an interview with ABC’s The View on Wednesday.
She stated, “I wanted to stress respecting the honor and dignity of every human being.” I was attempting to refute the divisive and polarizing narrative that is harming actual people.
Budde’s speech was delivered the day after Trump took office and signed almost 100 executive orders, some of which had to do with immigration and LGBTQ issues.
Regarding LGBTQ individuals, Trump issued two executive orders: one declaring that only two sexes—male and female—will be recognized by the U.S. government, and the other terminating extreme and inefficient diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within federal agencies.
Additionally, LGBTQ resources were taken down from government websites by the Trump administration, including a page on the State Department’s website that was devoted to promoting LGBTQ rights globally.
Trump signed a slew of executive measures on immigration, including ones that aimed to stop all refugee admissions, send the military to the southern border, and terminate birthright citizenship.
There will probably be protracted legal disputes over a number of Trump’s directives. On Tuesday, a group of more than a dozen Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop the birthright citizenship order, which opponents claim is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.
According to a statement on the Customs and Border Protection website, the Trump administration has stopped using features of the CBP One government app, which allows migrants to enter their information and make appointments at ports of entry along the southwest border. The permanence of that transformation is uncertain.
Budde, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, has previously denounced Trump in his sermon on Tuesday. She criticized the then-president for evacuating Lafayette Square, close to the White House, during the George Floyd protests and then posing for pictures on the grounds of neighboring St. John’s Church while clutching a Bible in an opinion piece she published for The New York Times in June 2020.
“Justice is the side of the God I serve. She stated in the opinion piece, “Jesus calls his followers to follow his example of selfless love and to establish what he called the Kingdom of God on earth.” “What would the sacrificial love of Jesus look like now?”