President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance were seated in the front row of a prayer service at Washington’s National Cathedral on Tuesday when the Episcopal bishop of Washington challenged him directly.
During her 15-minute lecture, Bishop Mariann Budde remarked, “Let me make one last plea, Mr. President.” “You have the faith of millions. You have also experienced the providential hand of a loving God, as you informed the country yesterday. As she seemed to turn to face the president, Budde continued, “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
Trump issued a series of executive orders the day before, including one that declared a national emergency at the southern border, one that included a section devoted to “recognizing that women are biologically distinct from men,” and several others that dealt with immigration, including one that attempted to abolish birthright citizenship.
Budde questioned these directives as well as a lot of the discourse that has been generated around them.
“Those who harvest our crops, clean our office buildings, work in meatpacking factories and poultry farms, clean the dishes after our meals at restaurants, and work night shifts in hospitals could not be citizens or possess the required paperwork. However, the great majority of immigrants do not commit crimes. “They are good neighbors and pay taxes,” Budde added.
In 2020, Budde made headlines for criticizing Trump after he shot a picture of himself carrying a Bible outside of a boarded-up St. John’s Episcopal Church. Budde was incensed by the use of chemical agents by law police to disperse racial justice demonstrators. “Everything he has said and done is to inflame violence,” the Washington Post reported at the time, quoting Budde. He has made every effort to drive a wedge between us, and we need moral leadership.”
Republican Georgia U.S. Representative Mike Collins shared a video of Budde’s sermon on X following the service on Tuesday, writing, “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
“Mr. President, I beg you to have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away,” Budde said near the close of her sermon. And that you make this place a compassionate and welcoming place for those who are escaping persecution and violence in their own countries. Since we were all once foreigners in this country, our God instructs us to show mercy to strangers.
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