The Right Reverend Marian Edgar Budde, bishop of the Diocese of Washington, said Wednesday that she would continue to pray for President Donald Trump, hours after he slammed her in a sermon.
“I don't consider him an enemy,” Budde told The Associated Press.
“We believe that we can respectfully express dissent, express our ideas without resorting to verbal violence, and continue to defend our given beliefs.”
Budde appealed directly to Trump after the inauguration. prayer meeting He appeared Tuesday to ask for mercy to be shown to members of the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants living in the country illegally.
President Trump on Wednesday called Budd a “radical left-wing hardliner Trump hater” on his website Truth Social.
“Aside from her inappropriate remarks, that service was very boring and uninspiring. She's not very good at her job!” he posted after midnight. “She and her church owe the people an apology!”
Referring to President Trump's belief that he was saved from assassination by God, Budde said, “You must have felt the loving hand of God's providence. In the name of our God, be frightened right now. Please have mercy on the people of this country.”
“Democrats, Republicans and independent families have gay, lesbian and transgender children, some of whom fear for their lives,” Budde said as the president looked on.
She preached that “the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals” but “good neighbors” and “faithful members” of religious communities.
The Trump administration has already issued an executive order to roll back the policy. transgender rights and strengthen immigration policy.
President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance looked visibly displeased at times as they sat in the front seats with their wives. Vance raised his eyebrows and said something to Second Lady Usha Vance, who was staring straight ahead.
“I didn't think it was good service,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House. Later, on Truth Social, he criticized Budde for not mentioning crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the United States.
Budde knew last summer that the theme of his inaugural sermon would be unity after a “divisive election season.”
She watched the inauguration the day before she was scheduled to preach, and noted that the prayers of pro-Trump clergy “see things from a completely different perspective” than her own.
“The Anglican Church is not a large church, but it has a very generous view of God and people,” she said. “And I wanted people to know that it's also a way to interpret the world through the lens of faith.”
She thought that phrasing it as a request for mercy from the president “was a very gentle way of saying it because it was acknowledging the authority and power of the president.”
“Looks like I was wrong,” she said.
The strong reaction to Budde's sermons was largely along predictable political and religious lines. People of progressive faith found in her an inspiring example of “speaking truth to power.”
Some conservative religious voices considered her plea divisive and disrespectful. Some objected to women taking on powerful church leadership roles traditionally held by men.
A national spokesperson for the Episcopal Church said Budde was a “valued and trusted pastor” and colleague. “We support Bishop Budde and her appeal for Christian values of mercy and compassion.”
Progressive Christian activist and author Shane Claiborne writes of Bad on X: “This is what it means to speak the truth in love.”
In contrast, Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins posted on X along with a video of Budde preaching: “The person who gave this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
The Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas, a prominent Trump supporter, attended the service and said Budde “did more to insult than encourage our great president,” adding, “Her words left the audience stunned. There was a clear sense of disgust,” wrote X.
Budde felt some of that backlash as she walked down the aisle of the cathedral after the service. When she died, the president did not recognize her.
“I try to make eye contact with people and smile, but I don't get many smiles back,” she said.
The bishop largely avoids social media. The harsh comments of some critics were “exactly what” she wanted to avoid in her sermon's unified message.
“I wanted to address that culture of contempt in a way that we could have a different kind of conversation with each other,” said the soft-spoken cleric.
Budde has criticized Trump in the past.
Most notably, in 2020, she said she was “outraged” by Trump's appearance in front of St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House. He held up a Bible after the area was cleared of peaceful protesters.
The Episcopal Church and its predecessor, the Episcopal Church, have long been pillars of American political power. Claimed more signers to the Declaration of Independence than any other denomination. In recent decades, more Americans no longer identify as religious, and their reach has shrunk along with many mainstream Protestant denominations.
The Episcopal Church continues to host high-profile events at the National Cathedral in Washington, including a number of inaugural prayers and the recent funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
Budde is the first woman to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, a position she has held since 2011.
“I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother. I really care about the people in my community,” Budde said.
“We're more like each other than we think. And if we take the time to get to know each other and know each other's stories, we tend to soften.”
