President Donald Trump was forced to sit and listen to a stunning lecture from a bishop about his treatment of migrants and the LGBTQ community at a church service kicking off his first full day in office.
The commander-in-chief was sat in the front row of the pews with First Lady Melania when Episcopal bishop Mariann Budde unleashed her sermon on ‘mercy’ to a seemingly stunned congregation.
‘I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country that are scared now,’ she said. ‘There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.’
She also asked Trump to have mercy on illegal immigrants noting that they were the one’s doing low-skilled work and service jobs in the United States.
‘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 might not be citizens or have the proper documentation,’ she said.
Trump did not appear moved by the sermon, as he looked wearily out at the bishop after a full day and night of Inauguration festivities the day before.
U.S. President Donald Trump stands near Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde as he attends the National Day of Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2025.
Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance with second lady Usha attend the National Day of Prayer Service
‘The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,’ Budde pleaded. ‘I ask you to have mercy Mr. President on those in communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away,’ she said.
‘Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger for we were all strangers once in land,’ she concluded.
Budde drew sharp criticism for her sermon from Republicans and Trump supporters.
‘The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list,’ wrote Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on social media.
Budde champions leftist causes through her ministry, as she boasts of serving as ‘an advocate and organizer in support of justice concerns, including racial equity, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, and the care of creation’ on her diocesan website.
She also has a long history of criticizing President Donald Trump during his first term, especially after he stood next to the Episcopal Church holding the Bible after clearing protesters out of Lafayette Square near the White House during the Black Lives Matter protests.
In an interview with CBS the next morning, Budde slammed Trump’s actions, calling them ‘antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that we as a church stand for.’
She also condemned Trump while attending an outdoor Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
‘I’ve given up speaking to President Trump. We need to replace President Trump,’ she said.
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Trump watches in disbelief as woke bishop scorns him with ‘transgender children fearing for their lives’ claims
