Bishop Mariann Budde defends plea directed at Trump during inaugural prayer service

Rev. Mariann Budde the Episcopal Bishop of Washington on Wednesday defended a plea for mercy she made to President Donald Trump on behalf of immigrants and others during an inaugural prayer service a day before.

“We’re in a particularly harsh moment now when it comes to conversations around immigrant populations in our midst, and so that was the reason for the tone I took now,” Budde said during an MSNBC interview.

Trump had attended the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, during which Budde implored the president to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now” and referred specifically to gay, lesbian and transgender children, some of whom she said “fear for their lives.”

Budde told host Rachel Maddow that rather than use “sweeping terms,” she sought to make a direct appeal to Trump, whom she noted was entrusted with power by millions of voters.

“I wanted to make, as you heard, a plea, a request that he broaden his characterization of the people that are are frightened now and are at risk of losing everything, and I thought that that would be the more respectful way to say it,” Budde said.

During Tuesday’s sermon, Budde had also spoken about immigrants, saying while some of them may not be citizens or have appropriate documentation, “the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”

Budde said during Wednesday’s interview that her sermon was meant “to appeal to not only the president, but to all who might be listening, to appeal to what we know to be true about our immigrant neighbors, who they are, the kind of people that we’re blessed to be among, and to remember them in our understanding of what it means to be America.”

A day before Budde’s sermon, Trump had capped off his first day in office by signing an executive order that said the federal government would recognize only two sexes, male and female, and restoring the “Remain in Mexico” policy put in place during his first term for those seeking to enter the United States through Mexico. Trump also declared a national emergency at the border that would potentially permit the Defense Department to deploy the military and the National Guard to the border.

Trump on Wednesday criticized the sermon in a post on Truth Social, calling Budde a “so-called Bishop” and “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday also took aim at Budde in comments to Fox News, saying she had chosen to “weaponize the pulpit,” adding that the bishop’s remarks during the sermon “were egregious, and she should apologize to President Trump for the lies that she told.”

Asked Wednesday how she would respond to the vitriol she has received in the aftermath of her sermon, Budde said she was trying “to encourage a different kind of conversation.”

“You can certainly disagree with me. You can disagree with what I’ve said or did. But could we, as Americans and fellow children of God, speak to one another with respect? I would offer the same to you,” she said.