Bishop of Washington National Cathedral denounces Trump during sermon

President Donald Trump celebrated the first full day of his second presidency by attending a church service at the Washington National Cathedral. The progressive establishment has long resisted Trump’s values, as rolling stone recently reported, and on Tuesday, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde used her sermon to deliver a pointed message to the new president.

Here’s what she said:

“Allow me to make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions of people have trusted you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people of our country who are afraid at this time. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families – some fearing for their lives. The people who harvest our crops and clean our office buildings, who work on poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash dishes after eating at restaurants, and who work night shifts in hospitals — they may not be not be citizens or lack the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and temples.

I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken, and to help those fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. 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 to walk humbly with one another and with our God, for the good of all — the good of all the peoples of the world. this nation and the world. Amen.”

Trump built his political persona largely on virulent xenophobia and signed a series of executive orders Monday cracking down on immigration and targeting transgender Americans. His actions have long been at odds with the mission of the Washington National Cathedral. Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, described in 2020 that Trump used St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op, after federal law enforcement used tear gas to disperse a peaceful protest of Black Lives Matter in the region, as “antithetical to the teachings”. of Jesus and to the God of justice.

A reporter asked Trump what he thought of the service after leaving the cathedral on Tuesday. “Not too exciting,” he said. “They could do a lot better.”