Trump slams ‘so-called’ bishop in brutal post calling for her to apologise

The brave cleric asked the President to have "mercy" on immigrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Right Rev Mariann Budde made a direct appeal to the returning President - who was sat in the front row - to “have mercy upon” communities across America during a service held at Washington national cathedral on Tuesday.

Budde said Trump had “felt the providential hand of a loving God,” which was likely in reference to Trump’s inaugural address, in which he declared that God had saved him from an assassin’s bullet to “make America great again”.

She added: “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.”

Referencing expected changes to immigration and LGBTQ+ policies, Budde said: “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in both Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives.”

She said: “The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbours. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara and temples.

“Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.”

The sermon finished with Vice-President JD Vance shaking his head.

President Trump has now taken the chance to respond, taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, to slam the bishop as a "radical left hard-line Trump hater".

"She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way," he wrote. "She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people."

He continued: "Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!"

Reverend Budde explained to CNN that she used the service to remind everyone that LGBTQ+ people and immigrants are our "fellow human beings" who "have been portrayed all throughout the political campaign in the harshest of lights".

"I wanted to counter, as gently as I could, with a reminder of their humanity and their place in our wider community," she said. "We don’t need to portray with a broad cloth in the harshest of terms some of the most vulnerable people in our society, who are in fact our neighbors and our friends."

Budde said that she spoke to the president directly because "he has this moment now where he feels charged and empowered to do what he feels called to do, and I wanted to say there is room for mercy".