Trump looks unhappy as reverend pleads for ‘mercy’ for immigrant, trans youth

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance looked visibly irritated during a national prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday when the sermon took a political turn.

Among the religious leaders who spoke was Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, who was a vocal critic of Trump and the US government after the death of George Floyd.

On Trump’s first day back in office, Budde, of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, gave a sermon focused on “unity,” but her remarks became more pointed when she mentioned immigrants and LGBTQ youth.

The reverend addressed the president directly, saying, “Let me ask you one more time, Mr. President, millions have placed their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, please have mercy on the people in our country who are afraid. There are gays, lesbians and transgender children in Democratic and Republican and independent families, some fearing for their lives.”

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“And the people – the people who harvest our crops and clean our office buildings, who work on poultry farms and in packing plants, who wash dishes in their restaurants and work 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.”

The reverend asked Trump to have “grace to those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken from them, and to help those fleeing war zones of persecution in their own countries to find compassion and welcome, our God teaches us that we must be merciful to the stranger”.

The vice president and the second lady leaned in and whispered to each other during the sermon.

At the beginning of her remarks, Budde began to “pray for the unity of people and nations, not for agreement, political or otherwise, but for the kind of unity that fosters community despite differences and divisions, a unity that serves the common good.”

“Unity, in this sense, is a prerequisite for people to live in freedom and together in a free society,” she said.

“On the contrary,” continued the Buddha, “unity is a way of being with one another, and it embraces and respects differences that teach us to consider multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect that allows us in our communities to truly care for one another, even when we disagree.”

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She went on to say, “We who are gathered here are not naïve 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 the globe of the spectrum of possibility and extremely different understandings of what is the correct course of action, there will be winners and losers when these decisions are made that testify to how to determine the direction of public policy and prioritize resources.”

“Not everyone’s prayers will be answered in the way we would like. But for some, the loss of their hopes and dreams will be far more than political,” she said, adding that “all the faiths represented here affirm the birthright of all people as children of our only God, in public speaking, respecting the dignity of others means rejecting ridicule and role models, belittling, demonizing those with whom we differ, choosing instead to respect, with respect, to resolve our differences and when whenever possible, look for a common language.”

In his inaugural speech, Trump asserted that they exist “two sexes, male and female”, with thunderous applause.

“I will also end the government’s policy of attempting to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” he said. “We will create a color-blind, merit-based society.”

The president promised mass deportations of criminal illegal immigrants and further caused controversy by signing the executive order cancellation of citizenship by birth for children of illegal immigrants.

This is not the first time Budde has announced his left-wing political views. AND video clip from 2020 shows Budde talking to an ABC News reporter during a protest in Washington, DC

“It’s a message to call for justice — for quick justice for George Floyd,” Budde said at the time, wearing a face mask. “For systemic justice for all the brown and black people who have been brought to the knees of this country in ways that we have witnessed time and time again.” She went on to say, “This is wrong, and this uprising – this spontaneous uprising of people mostly half my age or younger, they’re the ones we need to listen to.”

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Asked about Trump, Budde said, “I’ve given up talking to President Trump. We have to replace President Trump.”

Buddha too testified before Congress in connection with the conflict on June 1, 2020 between protesters and law enforcement near the Church of St. John on Lafayette Square.

She said that “our government has resorted to acts of violence against peaceful protesters” and said episcopal church believes that issues of “racial and social justice are fundamental tenants of the Christian faith.”

Budde also blasted Trump for holding a Bible outside a church after the riots. Testifying virtually at the time, she told a House committee, “When the president held a Bible in front of our church as if to assume the mantle of spiritual authority over what had just happened, I knew I had to speak out. The Bible nowhere condones the use of violence against the innocent. “

Trump visited that same church again on Monday morning before he was sworn in as the 47th president.

Sarah Tobianski of Fox News contributed to this report