“There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, and some fear for their lives,” said the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, addressing Donald Trump during a national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. “The vast majority of migrants pay taxes and are good neighbors.”
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy”
Bishop Mariann Budde delivered a bold sermon directly aimed at Donald Trump. The interfaith service, traditionally held for new presidents, was marked by poignant words calling on the new president to reconsider his policies and recent decisions.
In her address, Mariann Budde advocated for greater clemency toward LGBTQ+ individuals and migrants. “Millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said, seemingly speaking directly to Trump, who was seated in the front row with his wife Melania and Vice President J.D. Vance.
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals”
The bishop’s remarks came the day after Donald Trump signed several controversial executive orders. Among them were measures aimed at suspending asylum seekers’ arrivals, deporting undocumented migrants, and limiting gender recognition to only “male” and “female,” effectively excluding transgender people.
Mariann Budde condemned these policies and the rhetoric accompanying them. “The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. The vast majority of migrants pay taxes and are good neighbors.”
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.”
A long-standing criticism of Trump
Mariann Edgar Budde is the first woman elected Bishop of Washington. She oversees 86 Episcopal congregations and 10 schools in the District of Columbia and four counties in Maryland.
This is not her first critique of Donald Trump. In 2020, she made headlines when she condemned the use of tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters. At the time, Mariann Budde accused the president of “doing everything to divide us,” as reported by the Washington Post.
Once again, her remarks did not go unnoticed. After the service, Republican Representative Mike Collins from Georgia posted an excerpt of the sermon on “X” with the scathing comment: “The person who gave this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
Donald Trump demands public apology
Donald Trump, visibly upset, called the bishop “nasty” on his Truth Social platform, even demanding a public apology. “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart…. She and her church owe the public an apology!” he wrote.
While criticized by some, this sermon marked a symbolic moment, shedding light on the growing tensions between the policies of the Trump administration and the values espoused by religious leaders like Mariann Budde.