Bishop Budde Addresses Controversial Sermon at National Cathedral
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, defended her comments urging President Donald Trump to show mercy towards members of the LGBTQ community and illegal immigrants during a sermon on “unity” at the traditional inaugural prayer service at National Cathedral on Tuesday. In an interview on “The View” Wednesday morning, Bishop Budde, known for her progressive stance, explained her remarks during yesterday’s service that has since sparked controversy for attempting to politicize a sermon, The Christian Post reports.
“My responsibility yesterday morning was to reflect, to pray with the nation for unity. As I was pondering, what are the foundations of unity? I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being, basic honesty and humility.”
“I also realized that unity requires a certain degree of mercy, compassion and understanding. So, knowing that a lot of people ... in our country right now, are really scared, I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of that service for unity; to say we need to treat everyone with dignity, and we need to be merciful. I was trying to counter the narrative that is so divisive and polarizing, and in which people, real people, are being harmed.”
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde explains her pointed message to Pres. Trump at Tuesday's inaugural prayer service: "My responsibility yesterday morning was to reflect, to pray with the nation for unity."
— The View (@TheView) January 22, 2025
"I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being." pic.twitter.com/V9VtF9P1og
During a sermon Tuesday morning, Budde pleaded for Trump to have “mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” including “gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families. Some who fear for their lives.”
“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 bishop continued.
Budde also said she avoided focusing on the reactions by Trump, seated in the front row with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance, upon hearing her comments.
“I’ve long since given up trying to read people’s reactions as I preach. …I had what I felt was on my heart to say, and I had to leave it to them, to all of us, to take from whatever …my words were, to hear in whichever way they could, and leave, as they say, the rest to God.”
Trump later criticized the service, saying it was “not good” and called Budde a “radical left, hardline Trump hater” in a post on his Truth Social platform. He also stressed that she and the church deliver 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 brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 22, 2025
Budde, however, dismissed Trump’s comments as part of the current “culture of contempt.”
“We're in a hyper-political climate. One of the things I caution about is the culture of contempt in which we live that immediately rushes to the worst possible interpretations of what people are saying,” she said. “I was trying to speak a truth that I felt needed to be said, but to do it in as respectful and kind a way as I could, and also to bring other voices into the conversation ... that had not been heard in the public space for some time.”
Budde previously denounced Trump in 2020, accusing him of using St. John’s Episcopal Church and the Bible as props when he stood in front of the church with a Bible for a photo-op following a protest in which rioters torched part of the church.
At the time, the bishop said she was "outraged" and "horrified" her, and Trump’s actions were “antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.”
Since 1933, the National Cathedral has held an interfaith service which includes prayers from Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, as well as additional representatives from other faiths.
Related Article: Bishop Rebukes Trump at Prayer Service on Transgender Issues, Sparking Controversy
Photo Credit: ©X/The View
Originally published January 22, 2025.
