The Rt Rev Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, has defended comments she made appealing to President Donald Trump for "mercy" on behalf of illegal immigrants and the LGBT community in a sermon where she mentioned "unity" while also claiming the president's policies would "harm" trans-identified children LGBT families.
The 65-year-old bishop appeared on "The View" Wednesday morning to address the national controversy surrounding her recent comments at a prayer service attended by Trump.
The remarks, delivered during a Service of Prayer for the Nation at Washington National Cathedral, included a plea 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 labour 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," she said.
Speaking to the "The View" hosts, Bishop Budde said, "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 honour 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."
Trump, seated in the front row with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance, reacted visibly during the remarks. When asked on "The View" about their reactions, Budde said she avoided focusing on their body language.
"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."
The sermon ignited a strong reaction from Trump, who criticized the service as "not good" and labelled Budde a "radical left, hardline Trump hater" on social media. He accused her of bringing politics into the church and demanded a public apology.
Budde dismissed the characterization as part of the current "culture of contempt," saying, "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. ... 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."
The conversation on "The View" also touched on Trump's policies, including the expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authority to enter traditionally protected spaces like churches, schools and hospitals, if warranted.
Budde called the erosion of churches as sanctuaries "heartbreaking," claiming that while not encoded in law, it was an "unwritten policy" to respect places where people could seek safety.
"We have a lot of churches in our particular denomination that meet the needs of immigrants and other vulnerable populations and we need now to be as special and mindful and to make sure that basic human rights are protected and people's needs can be met," she said.
Budde also said that, if given the opportunity, she'd address the president directly: "I've never been invited into a one-on-one conversation with President Trump, and I would welcome that opportunity. I have no idea how that would go. I can assure him and everyone listening that I would be as respectful as I would with any person," she said.
Budde, known for her progressive stances, previously criticized Trump in 2020 when he staged a photo-op at St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House following a protest in which rioters torched part of the church. At the time, she accused him of using the church and the Bible as props, a move she said "outraged" and "horrified" her, and was "antithetical to the teachings of Jesus."
The National Cathedral's interfaith service, a tradition since 1933, included prayers from Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, as well as representatives from other faiths.
