Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is being celebrated as “fearless” and “bold” after pleading with Donald Trump to show Christian mercy to the immigrants he wants to ban from the nation and members of the LGBT+ community he aims to punish.
Meanwhile, in an unhinged rant on TruthSocial, Trump wrote that Budde owes “the public” an apology.
“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.... She and her church owe the public an apology!”
Trump’s attack followed harsh criticism of the bishop by allies of the president earlier in the day.
Liberal commentators on X were outspoken in their support for Budde. “Today, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde boldly called out Donald Trump for his hatred and bigotry at the National Cathedral Prayer Service. Now, the GOP is attacking her for speaking truth to power,” wrote the account Protect Kamala Harris.
Pundit Art Candee tweeted a photo of Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance looking perturbed during the sermon with the caption: “The looks you make when you’re called out by a Bishop in church at the National Prayer Service for essentially being fake Christians.”
Bishop Budde addressed the controversy in an appearance on CNN with Erin Burnett, saying that she was “reminding us all that in the people that are frightened in our country, the two groups of people that I mentioned are our fellow human beings, and that they have been portrayed in all throughout the political campaign, in the harshest of lights.”
“I wanted to counter, as gently as I could, with a reminder of their humanity and their place in our wider community,” she added.
Budde called on Trump to “have mercy” for the “scared” LGBT+ children and immigrant families across the country when the president and his family attended a National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Hours earlier Trump had signed a slew of executive orders, many of which included hard-line immigration policies — such as ending birthright citizenship — while another denied the existence of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people throughout the government.
Budde said at the service, addressing Trump: “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families — some who fear for their lives.”
She added: “I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear 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.”
Trump did not immediately respond to Budde’s comment in anger. During the service, he merely looked on awkwardly.
He later criticized the service to a reporter as “not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a great service,” he added.
Trump’s allies, however, quickly lit into the bishop.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, condemned Butte’s speech in a Newsmax interview Tuesday.
“For this bishop to do this to President Trump after a weekend of, as you said, talking about God more than ever,” Tuberville said, “talking about how he was spared to give an opportunity maybe to change this country back to something that it should be, it just absolutely amazes me how far these people go.”
Representative Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican, inexplicably called for Budde to be deported: “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
Budde was born in New Jersey in 1959 and is a U.S. citizen — therefore, she cannot be deported.
Trump’s friend and informal faith adviser Robert Jeffress, who attended the service, also criticized Budde and claimed the audience was filled with “palpable disgust” by her words.
“Attended national prayer service today at the Washington National Cathedral during which Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde insulted rather than encouraged our great president @realDonaldTrump,” he wrote on X.
Trump was asked about the service as he left the event.
“Did you like it?” Trump asked, speaking to reporters. “Did you find it exciting? Not too exciting, was it?”
“I didn’t think it was a good service, no,” he continued. “They can do much better.”
The Independent has contacted Budde for comment.
