At the inaugural prayer service in Washington, D.C., in the United States on Tuesday, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, took a moment in her sermon to directly address President Donald Trump, urging him to reconsider his treatment of marginalized communities.
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Rev. Budde said, speaking to Trump as he sat at the front of the Washington National Cathedral. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children, and Democratic and Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
She continued to advocate for those who are often ignored or mistreated, specifically calling out undocumented immigrants who contribute to society through their work, taxes, and presence in communities, as well as refugees fleeing unsafe conditions.
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities — these children fear that their parents will be taken away,” she said. “And that you help those that are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands find compassion and welcome here.”
“And the people – the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meet packing plants, who wash the dishes at their restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors,” Budde said. “They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues… and temples.”
Budde also referenced Trump’s belief that divine intervention had saved him from an assassination attempt, stating, “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.”
Her words came a day after Trump had signed several executive orders on his first day in office, including measures that sought to tighten immigration and reverse protections for transgender Americans.
Among these orders was an effort to eliminate birthright citizenship, which has already faced legal challenges.
Budde’s sermon took place during a national prayer service attended by newly-inaugurated presidents, a long-standing tradition.
Trump was accompanied by his family and Vice President JD Vance.
While many praised Rev. Budde for her boldness in speaking out, some of Trump’s supporters criticized her, with Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., even calling for her, an American citizen, to be “added to the deportation list.”
In her sermon, Rev. Budde emphasized the importance of unity, not based on agreement but on fostering community in the face of division. “Unity is not partisan,” she said.
She stated, “In this context, unity is essential for people to live freely and harmoniously in a free society.”
“Rather,” Budde continued, “Unity is a way of being with one another, and it encompasses and respects differences that teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect that enables us in our communities to genuinely care for one another, even when we disagree.”
She added, “Those of us gathered here, we are not naive about the realities of politics when power and wealth and competing interests are at stake, when views of what America should be are in conflict. When there are strong opinions across a spectrum of possibilities and starkly different understandings of what the right course of action is there, there will be winners and losers when those witness decisions made that set the course of public policy and the prioritization of resources.”
Despite the powerful message, Trump did not seem moved by Budde’s plea. When asked about the service upon returning to the White House, he dismissed it, saying, “I didn’t think it was a good service. They can do much better.”
The interfaith service featured speeches from more than a dozen religious leaders representing Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu faiths.
