President Donald Trump was sternly spoken to during the inaugural prayer service on January 21.
In her sermon, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, Right Reverend Mariann Budde, bravely appealed to Trump by name, begging him to have “mercy” on some of the groups he has targeted.
Budde used Trump’s verbiage of being “saved by God” during the assassination attempt on his life to curry favor.
“You have felt the providential hand of a loving God,” she said. “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
She went on to beg Trump to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” specifically naming gay, lesbian and transgender children, who, Budde stated, exist in “Democratic, Republican and independent families.”
“And the people,” she continued, “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, they may not have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
Budde cited these immigrants “pay taxes” and “are good neighbors” as well as people of faith.
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away,” Budde elaborated, “and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
Budde pointed out to Trump that the God they believe in teaches people to be “merciful to strangers,” as everyone on this earth was a stranger once upon a time.
“May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people,” she concluded. “The good of all people in this nation and the world.”
Upon returning to The White House after the service, Trump was immediately critical of it.
“Not too exciting, was it?” he exclaimed while walking alongside staff members. “I didn’t think it was a good service. They could do much better.”
Trump attended the service with his wife, Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Vance’s wife, Usha. His children were also present for the event. Upon the conclusion of the sermon, Melania could be seen smirking at Donald.