Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde answered the President Criticism of Donald Trump comments she made during her sermon at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday.
On Trump’s first full day of his second term, Budde, of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, gave a sermon focused on “unity,” also aiming specific comments directly at Trump on issues such as illegal immigration and LGBTQ youth. Trump and Vice President JD Vance sat stony-faced as she called on Trump to “have mercy,” and the president told reporters afterward that he didn’t care about the remarks.
“It was a very muted response,” Budde said of Trump’s reaction in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. “My expectations are low whenever I preach. I can’t always measure the effect by body language or even what people say afterwards. And so, I have to leave it all behind. I speak from what I believe I’ve been given to say and let it go from there.”
REVEREND ASKS TRUMP TO HAVE “MERCY” FOR IMMIGRANTS, LGBTQ CHILDREN WHO ARE “FEARING FOR THEIR LIVES”
The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde responded to criticism from President Donald Trump over comments she made during her sermon at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday. (CNN)
When asked about the service, Trump was quick to respond reaction to journalists in the White House.
“Not too exciting, is it?” Trump said. “I didn’t think it was a good service, no. They can do a lot better.”
It was a respectful response, Budde said. “He didn’t like it. That’s what he said. He said we could do better. Some of the other comments that I received were not as kind or they were muted, so to speak. And one of the things I was trying to say is that we can actually have these conversations on respectful way.”
Budde also explained the context of her comments to Trump.
ALMOST ALL OF DC SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF TRUMP’S INAUGURATION. SO WHY WAS THERE NO DEFINITE SURVIVOR?
Budde delivers a sermon during the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC (Left: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I was looking at the president because I was speaking directly to him,” Budde said. “Also, as sincerely as you do in every sermon, I addressed everyone who listened to that private conversation with the president, reminding us all that among the people who are afraid in our country, the two groups of people I mentioned are our fellow human beings and that they are shown throughout political campaign in the brightest lights. I wanted to reciprocate, as gently as I could, by reminding them of their humanity and their place in our wider community.”
“I spoke to the president because I felt that he has a moment now where he feels charged and empowered to do what he feels called to do, and I wanted to say that there is room for grace,” she continued. “There is room for wider compassion. We should not be portraying, in the harshest terms, some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”
Trump later stepped up his rhetoric against Budde in the post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“The so-called bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a radical left-wing die-hard Trump hater,” he wrote. “She brought her church into the world of politics in a very unkind way.”
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Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
