A bishop who pleaded with Donald Trump to have mercy on marginalized Americans says she will not apologize after the U.S. president lashed out at her on social media.
Speaking during the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral Tuesday, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde said, “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.”
Trump sat silently in a pew at the front of the church, shifting in his seat as Budde spoke from the podium, while vice-president J.D. Vance shot glances in his direction.
“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and Independent families, some who fear for their lives,” Budde said. It was an apparent reference to Trump’s declaration that the U.S. will only recognize two genders — and that one’s gender cannot be changed — as well as his rollback of anti-discrimination policies aimed at helping 2SLGBTQ+ Americans.
During the inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde urged U.S. President Donald Trump to have mercy on those ‘who are scared now’ after he was sworn into office.
Budde went on to say the “vast majority” of immigrants in the U.S. are not criminals.
“They pay taxes and are good neighbours. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and temples,” she said, apparently referencing Trump’s plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants after declaring a national emergency at the country’s southern border.
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.”
At 12:39 a.m. Wednesday morning, after the speech had made its rounds online, Trump furiously responded on his social media app Truth Social, demanding an apology and calling Budde a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”
“She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!” he wrote.
Budde told Time magazine in a story published Wednesday that she hoped to “bring compassion and breadth” into the public discourse, and that she stands by her sermon.
“I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others,” Budde said.
Church, Trump hold opposing views
The National Prayer Service is an American tradition, held the morning after the presidential inauguration since 1933, and includes leaders from various faith denominations.
Tension was anticipated before this year’s service, with the Episcopal Church and the Trump administration holding opposing views on some key issues. Episcopal leaders have a long-standing public policy of supporting and protecting immigrants and refugees, for example, and have also been welcoming to 2SLGBTQ+ Americans.
Trump has courted the Christian vote throughout his three presidential campaigns.
During his inaugural address Monday, Trump referred to the July Pennsylvania assassination attempt on him, saying he was saved by God to restore the country.
He won the support of about eight in 10 white evangelical Christians — who represent about 20 per cent of the electorate — in both of the last two presidential elections, according to a survey of more than 120,000 voters by AP VoteCast.
He has also drawn the ire of some Christian groups, particularly on immigration.
Faithful America gathered more than 16,000 signatures on a December petition accusing Trump of violating Christian values with his immigration policy.
Many U.S. religious leaders have opposed Trump’s deportation plan, with the archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy, saying such policies were “incompatible with Catholic doctrine,” referencing the Biblical call to “welcome the stranger.”
The night before Trump’s inauguration, Pope Francis said the president’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace” — nearly a decade after calling him “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
