- Right Rev Mariann Budde’s appeal amounts to bold public criticism
- Sermon prompts frosty response from US President
President Donald Trump has criticised the sermon delivered by the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Right Rev Mariann Budde urging him to “have mercy upon” communities across the country targeted by the new administration’s immigration and LGBTQ+ policies.
Following a traditional inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, during which Rev Budde called on the President to re-think his administration’s policies toward LGBTQ people and immigrants, Trump told reporters the sermon “wasn’t too exciting” adding that he “didn’t think it was a good service.”
After Budde finished her sermon, Trump had turned and said something to Vance, who responded with a shake of his head.
The National Prayer Service is one of several events that Presidents do attend around being sworn in. As the questions flooded in following the event; “What did you think? Did you like it? Did you find it exciting? Trump said to reporters; “Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a good service, no”, adding; “They could do much better.”
Throughout the sermon, Trump, in the front pew, had a stoic expression, flipping through his program and scanning the room. He looked up only during the hymns, sometimes moving his head to the music. Melania Trump was seen stifling a yawn and shifting around to stay alert. A majority of family members were seated behind the Trumps.
Earlier, in her sermon from the Washington National Cathedral pulpit, the Right Rev Mariann Budde made an impassioned plea, as Trump sat stone-faced in the front row, alongside Melania Trump and JD Vance.
The sermon was part of a larger interfaith prayer service, a post-inauguration day tradition hosted by the Washington National Cathedral and attended by Presidents of both parties at the start of their term. Tuesday morning’s service was filled with blessings and prayers for the success of the new administration but took a sharper, more political turn when Budde rose to deliver the homily.
In an apparent reference to Trump’s inaugural address, in which he declared that God had saved him from an assassin’s bullet to “make America great again”, Rev Budde said; “You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.”
Already, many commentators are saying that Budde’s sermon amounted to a bold public criticism of the new president, who spent his first hours in office signing executive orders rolling back Biden-era protections for transgender Americans and laying the groundwork to carry out his promise of mass deportations.
One executive order directed the Federal Government to recognize only “two sexes – male and female” while his immigration directives moved to dismantle birthright citizenship, send troops to the southern border, and suspend the US refugee admissions program.
“There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in both Democratic, Republican, and independent families who fear for their lives,” Budde said, asking his administration to show compassion.
She also spoke of immigrants, those who “pick our crops” and “work the night shift in hospitals”, but “may not be citizens or have the proper documentation.
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara and temples,” she said, adding: “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.”
Budde clashed with Trump during his first term in office. In 2020, she expressed outrage over Trump’s appearance in front of St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, where he held up a Bible after federal officers had used force to clear peaceful protesters demonstrating over the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Meanwhile, towing the President’s tough line, many of his allies have already begun to attack Budde over her comments. Georgia congressman Mike Collins said Budde, a US citizen, “should be added to the deportation list” for her words criticizing the president. Trump has vowed as president to protect Americans’ free speech. – With Agency reports
