As Trump sat in the first pew of the National Cathedral on Tuesday during a traditional prayer service, Bishop Budde asked Trump “to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” Trump glared and shifted uncomfortably as she spoke. …“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
But then the reaction- In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” who is “not very good at her job.” He said she “brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way” and demanded an apology.
" Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who campaigned heavily against transgender athletes last year, called Budde a “woke Bishop” in a post on the social platform X."
" Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) said Budde, born in New Jersey, “should be added to the deportation list.”"
“Fox News’s Sean Hannity said Budde, whom he described as a “so-called bishop,” “made the service about her very own deranged political beliefs with a disgraceful prayer full of fearmongering and division.””
"Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, said Budde is a “fake bishop” and mocked her appearance. "
" “Who knew Satan wore granny glasses and stole his haircut from John Denver?” Fox News personalityGreg Gutfeld said."
" “Bishop Budde hijacked the National Prayer Service to promote her radical ideology,” posted Johnson, a hard-right lawmaker known for embracing Christian nationalism. “This was an opportunity to unify the country in prayer, but she used it to sow division. Even worse, she’s continued her political crusade in media interviews. Shameful.”"
I didn’t read the entire content of her sermon, but from what was posted I fully agree with her. The forum she chose for such a lecture is questionable in my mind.
The thing that most terrifies Donald Trump is a diminutive middle-aged woman dressing him down or worse coming into physical contact. Here you can see how how frightened he is that Angela Merkel might transition a handshake into an armbar.
What’s wrong with her forum? It’s her pulpit. And she did not violate any laws, unlike a good many maga preachers who preached to their flocks to vote for Trump.
She is not the President’s Own Bishop. She is the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Washington DC. That was her pulpit, she represents the people of her church, and God. She gets to say whatever she wants.
It just seemed like a lecture, rather than what should be a dialogue. And my personal thought is that sermons should not be a direct personal message to a single individual, but rather a more general discussion for the entire audience. It just seemed contrived to generate controversy. I don’t know, I’m not outrage about it or anything.
In my experience, the preacher preaches and the congregation listens. It’s not about having a dialogue. It’s about teaching the lessons of Jesus. ‘Jesus tells us to be nice to one another’ isn’t directed at one person. It’s a message for everybody. It’s not her fault that there was a certain person attending who makes it a point not to be nice to people.
You can find a transcript of the entire sermon here, if, you know, you want to have an informed opinion. For the purpose of brevity and getting to the crux of the ‘issue’, the ending portion of the sermon that seems to be the portion mostly presenting manufactured outrage is below:
Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, 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. There are transgender children in both Republican and Democrat families who fear for their lives.
And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals—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. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.
Have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.
Now, I’m not a churchgoing man or a believer in supernatural beings responding to prayer but a sermon asking mercy and compassion for everyone regardless of creed, ethnicity, or gender would seem entirely appropriate in the venue of a church.
I completely agree, and if she had said “Those in power have a duty to extend compassion to those most vulnerable among us…” or something along those line, then I would feel much more comfortable about her entire sermon. But she addressed it as a personal plea to Trump, which I thought made it more a calculated spectacle than it should have been. Again, the general message I am in complete agreement with, but structuring it as a personal lecture to Trump was a little off-putting to me. Just my feeling on the matter.
I guess she could have generalized, or … in theory … directed her sermon to the letter carrier that services my community.
But why not speak directly the one person in the USA who has The Most Power to set the tone for both foreign and domestic policy … since he’s asked to be invited to one of your shows?
Because it’s ‘unseemly?’ Have you heard about the life Donald Trump has lived?? I get that everybody in the world is held to a higher standard than Trump, but do you get how it long ago got really, really old?
And why don’t his supporters ever tire of his incessant whining and playing the victim? Their beloved Tough Guy is the biggest snowflake in the known universe.
There really is only room for one on that cross.
“No Drama” Obama served the nation chamomile tea. Donald Trump and his wannabe’s serve us Red Bull, Vodka, and Meth cocktails – The Very Last Thing this country needed then or needs right now.
Telling him to maybe cool his hate just a notch … hurts who, what, and how, again?